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Our World- 




FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY 


CHILDREN. 


V 


BY MARY L. HALL, 


BOSTON: 

SAMUEL F. NICHOLS, 43 WASHINGTON STREET. 

18 6 6 . 



















T 


I 





Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 18 f> 6 , hy 
MARY LUCY HALL, 

In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 


33 2 -^ 




LC Control Number 



tmp96 032035 


/ 


Geo. C. Rand & Avery, Electrotypers and Printers, 



























/r/'tA 


PEEFAC E. 


An experience of several years in teaching has convinced me, either that children 
begin to study geography too young, or that the books they use are not suitable for 
them. Though excellent text-books for advanced pupils have appeared within the 
! «st few years, I have never found a very good one for children; those intended for 
them differing from the others only in quantity, and not in quality. 

Having a class of children from six to ten years of age who were to commence 
lie study of geography, I gave them a course of oral lessons, loose and general 
t may be, but so satisfactory in results, that I have been induced to collect them, 
loping that other young people may be as much interested in them as mine were. 
They a.e essentially primary or introductory lessons; and subjects which may seem 
to have been omitted are, perhaps, only postponed to a future time, when they will 
be more easily comprehended. 

Actual experience has proved to me that a child of seven or eight years may 
acquire in several months a general knowledge of the form of the earth, of its bodies 
of land and water, of the effects of climate, situation, <fcc., upon the different nations, 
which can no more be forgotten than the alphabet. 

I have endeavored to teach localities chiefly by associating with them whatever 
physical or historical interest they may have; believing the aim of such a text-book 
should be, not merely to give facts, but to inspire sympathy with far-off nations, j 
and to create a desire to learn more. 

It is hoped that this new edition will be found well adapted to the wants of i 
the school-room. The maps prepared to accompany it are made as simple as possible, 
containing only such names as are needed to illustrate the text. They are designed 
chiefly to impress upon the minds of the children the relative position and outlines of 
the continents, with their prominent features and divisions. Mural maps, with which 
school-rooms are generally well furnished,, ,will meet the demands of class-recitations 
better than any which a book of this size can contain. 

The lessons in the Second and Third Parts should be studied and recited with 
maps for constant reference. 

The answers to the map questions should, in all cases, be committed to memory. 


3 


M. L. H. 

















I 


CONTENTS. 


PART FIRST. 


ABOUT THE CONTINENTS. 


Introductory Lesson. 3 j 

Things to learn about the Land....N. 8 

Things to learn about the Water. 9 

Islands. 9 

Mountains.1."!!!.*!!."!!!!!!!! 11 

Prairies. 13 

Deserts. II 

Shores or Sea-coasts.. .1 .......'. 16 

Oceans. 17 

1. — The Water of the Ocean.' ’ 17 

2 . — What is on the Water of the Ocean.. N 18 

3. — What is under the Water of the Ocean. 18 

Springs. 20 

Rivers. 20 

Bain. 21 

' Vapor. 22 

The Sun. — Light and Heat. 22 

1 Climate. 23 


North America 
South America. 

Europe. 

Asia. 

Africa. 


Page. 
. 55 
. 55 
. 56 
. 57 
. 57 


PART THIRD. 


Countries and Nations. 58 

Government. 59 

General Map Questions. 60 


COUNTBIES OF EUROPE. 


PART SECOND. 

Direction. — Distance. 

Maps. 

The Hemispheres. 

General Map Questions. 

i The Six Continents. 


About Greece. 

About Italy. 

About France. 

About Spain. 

About England, Scotland, and Ireland. 

7L About Middle Europe.. 

About Russia. 

28 I 

30 COUNTRIES OF ASIA. 


61 

64 

65 
68 
69 

71 

72 


ABOUT THE OCEANS. 

I Atlantic. 

Pacific.. 

I Indian. 

More about the Oceans. . 


ABOUT THE ISLANDS. 

East and West Indies. 

British Isles.. 

More about the Islands.’ ’ 


ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 

Rocky Mountains. 

Andes.. 

! Alleghanies.A 

Brazilian Mountains. ...] 

Mountains of Africa. 

Mountains of Asia. . 

The Alps.' ’. 

Volcanoes. 


ABOUT THE RIVERS. 

Some of the Rivers of North America. 

J Rivers in South America. 

Some of the Rivers of Europe.. 

j Rivers of Africa.,.’. 

i Rivers in Asia. 


Mining Country of the Ural Mountains and Siberia. 75 

The Sandy Plains of Middle Asia. 70 

31 About China. yg 

31 Arabia and Turkey.N.. . N ! 80 

30 About Persia. .. go 

32 The Holy Land.. N... N .... N 82 

India, or Hindostan...’ 53 


34 

35 
37 


COUNTRIES OF AFRICA. 


About Egypt. 

North Africa. 

Other Countries of Africa 


38 

42 

43 
43 

43 

44 
44 
48 


49 

50 

52 

53 

54 


COUNTRIES OF AMERICA. 

How America was found. 

About South America. .... 

«Whi{t North America includes... ] 

British America.' ’ ’ 

TM ‘Esquimaux.N ’ ’' 

Mexico. 

The United States and Territories. 

1. — The Atlantic States. 

The Mississippi Valley.’ 

2 . — The Gulf States. 

3. — The Inland States. .... 

Beyond the Rocky Mountains. 


General Map Questions for Review 


85 

88 

88 


90 

92 

96 

96 

96 

97 
102 
103 
108 

109 

110 
112 


114 


4 












































































































RECOMMENDATIONS. 


I have examined, with careful attention and very 
great pleasure, Miss Hall’s manuscript of her work on 
; Geography; and I do not hesitate to say that I have 
; never seen any thing on the subject so well suited to attract, 
i delight, and instruct little children, or which I should so 
gladly put into the hands of a primary-school teacher. 

The author has learned how to teach : she loves and 
understands children, sympathizes with their wants, and 
knows how to interest them, and to gain and keep their 
attention. The language she uses is addressed to their 
imagination and curiosity, and singularly well adapted to 
their capacity, and to their imperfect knowledge of words 
and things. 

She began by teaching the substance of these lessons 
to a little class orally; and so charmed the learners, that I 
their friends begged her to write out what she had said to 
them just as she had said it, confident that the effect 
upon other children would be as happy as it had been on ! 
theirs. All experienced teachers, who have examined | 
this work, have come to a similar conclusion. 

So interesting is this little book, and so wisely chosen 
is the substance of the lessons, that it would be a blessing 
to pupils and teachers wherever it should be used. A 
child properly instructed in it would be likely to carry 
from it more valuable knowledge in Geography than 
from most books on the subject of ten times the size. 

The work is, moreover, not only admirable in itself, but 
it is of great value as showing how books for beginners 
might to be written; and, when introduced, it cannot 
fail to lead to important improvements in elementary les¬ 
sons upon all subjects. 

Geo. B. Emerson. 

Boston, July 8, 1804. 


Albany, Oct. 29, 186:}. 

I have been, for years, anxiously looking for a Geog¬ 
raphy which should be a suitable introduction of this 
great study to quite young persons, and unwilling to 
adopt, as a text-book, any of the manuals published. 


My conscience has Cried out against an attempt to feed 
our children upon the miserable husks which we have 
i been compelled to set before them. 

The book has not yet been published, which is fit to be 
placed in the hands of little children; and I rejoice that 
I this manuscript seems to be the very work we have so 
long waited for and so ardently desired 

It is scientifically exact, and philosophical in its 
| arrangement. In style, it is not only simple and well j 
adapted, but is positively charming. Every page is i 
replete with the most valuable information, set before the 
pupil in just the best way to make the most lasting im¬ 
pression ; while it will have, to the children, all the inter¬ 
est of an agreeable story-book. 

Miss Hall, the authoress, I well remember and appre¬ 
ciate as a pupil at the West Newton State Normal School; 
and know something, not only of her great skill in teach¬ 
ing, and her extensive acquirements, which she has so 
unselfishly devoted to the noble work of education, with 
no stimulus of necessity to urge ; but also the fact, that i 
her pen has been not unfrequently used in the columns of ! 
her father’s paper, long the leading journal in his part 
I of the country. 

I shall wait with great impatience for the appearance 
1 of the book from the press, and am prepared to give a 
pledge that I will introduce it into the Academy. 

Eben S. Stearns, 

Principal of the Albany Female Academy. 


Concord, Aug. 24, 1864. 

Miss Hall has the right idea of the way to initiate chil¬ 
dren into Geography by awakening the imagination with 
picturesque views, and giving a human interest to places ; 
illuminating the dry diagrams which usually prevent, 
rather than assist, adequate conception of the surface of j 
the earth. 

My assistant gives oral lessons of this kind, in connec¬ 
tion with talks about objects, in my “ Kindergarten : ” 
and I hope some publisher, unpledged to any other 




















6 


RECOMMENDATIONS. 




Geography, will soon undertake this one ; when it will, I 
think, have a great suecess, supplying a real want. 

Elizabeth P. Peabody. 


Concord, Aug. 25, 1864. 

-This is just the right kind of book for little children, — 
I should rather say, the right method; for no book could 
well contain all that may be said to children under the 
head of Geography. I always told stories ad infinitum 
over maps, substituting or appending pictures whenever I 
could. 

This little work is valuable and suggestive to young 
teachers as well as to children. I hope it will be intro¬ 
duced at once into our schools. 

Mrs. Horace Mann. 


West Newton, Aug. 12, 1864. 
In examining the manuscript of Miss Hall’s Primary 


Geography, I have been constantly surprised and de- 

j lighted with its admirable features. So well adapted is it, 

! by its charming style, apt illustrations, and remarkable 

power of exciting the imagination, to introduce young 

children to this branch of science, that they will be sure 
« • 1 
to continue the study with an intelligent interest. 

I knew the author, as a teacher, several years ago, and 
can bear testimony to the great power she had of interest¬ 
ing and developing little children. In this work, she has 
most happily exhibited her peculiar characteristics. 

We shall at once introduce it into our Training School, 
and shall place it in the hands of those who have just 
completed a course of “ Kindergarten ” instruction. 

I feel confident that all true educators will see and ap¬ 
preciate its distinctive points, and that its influence will 
be to reform the present unhappy methods of teaching 
Geography. 

Nathl. T. Allen, 

Principal of the West Newton English and Classical School. 


































PART FIRST. 


LESSON I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Dear Children, — Before you begin to learn 
the tilings I wish to tell you, look far away 
down the street or over the country, and you 
will see that the sky seems to come quite down 
to the earth. It would not be strange if some of 
you thought they really touched very far off. In¬ 
deed, a great many years ago, older and wiser 
people believed that, if they should go far enough, 


they would surely come to the end of the earth ; 
but, as nobody had ever seen any one who had 
been there, they could not tell exactly what the 
end of the world was like, though each one 
had his own notions about it, and very queer 
notions they were. 

As time went by, and more and more peo¬ 
ple were born on the earth, they began to need 
more room and more money : so many of them 
travelled away farther and farther, sometimes 
on land, sometimes on water. Still none of 


Lesson I. — Did people ever think they could get to the end of the earth ? 


7 




























































8 


INTRODUCTORY. THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT T PI E LAND. 


them came to the end of the earth ; and, wher¬ 
ever they went, the sky seemed as high over¬ 
head as ever. Wise men began to think there 
was no end; and, sure enough, it happened at 
last that some persons, after travelling on for a 
long time in the same way, found themselves 
just at the place from which they started, as an 
ant would after crawling round an apple. This, 
together with some other signs, showed very 
plainly that the earth was like a round ball, 
without any end. 

Since then, many people have travelled about 
over this round world of ours, finding out many 
things, and telling one another what they have 
seen. Fairy tales are not more wonderful than 
the stories that have been written about blazing 
hills, rivers of moving ice, springs of boiling 
water, cities buried under the ground, and hun¬ 
dreds of things as strange. 

The outside of this round world is called 
its surface ; and it will be hard for some of you, 
who perhaps have never seen more water than 
a river, to believe that there is more water than 
land on the surface of the earth, — nearly three 
times as much. There are great seas of water, 
thousands of miles wide ; and far across the 
waters are many lands very different from ours. 

There are countries where the sunshine is 
very hot all the year ; where the trees are always 
green, and flowers always blooming ; where the 
children have no snow-balling nor skating, but 
see every day ripe, yellow oranges, and gay- 
colored parrots in the trees. And hotter still 
are some lands, where there is no grass, but 
only miles and miles of dry, burning sand. 

Far off from these are other lands, where it 


What was found out about its shape 1 How ? What 
is the outside of the earth called 'i Are all parts of the 
earth alike ? What have travellers learned about it ? 


is always so bitter cold that the snow and ice 
never melt, where there are no large trees nor 
cornfields nor gardens, and where the people use 
rough bearskins for clothes. 

By travelling over the earth, the people who 
live in different parts have become a little ac¬ 
quainted with one another. There are on the 
earth many different kinds of people, with dif¬ 
ferent ways of living ; some white, some black, 
some brown, some tawny, some yellowish-red. 
Some live in houses of wood and of stone, oth¬ 
ers make hovels of mud ; some have only cloth 
tents or houses, and others build with skins 
and bark. 


LESSON II. 

THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT THE LAND. 

The land, instead of being all in one mass, 
is in parts, of different sizes and shapes ; and 
there are names for the different forms. 

If a piece of land has water all around it, 
we call it an island. 

But if such a piece of land is so large that 
it takes weeks, and even months, to cross it, 
then it is called a continent. 

The islands or continents are never regularly 
square nor round, but are of all sorts of shapes. 
The edges, instead of being even and straight, 
are all notched and jagged where they touch 
the water ; and these edges of land are called 
shores or sea-coasts. 

When the points of land reach out quite far 
into the water, they are called capes. 

When a piece of land is almost surrounded 
by water, it is called a peninsula. 


Lesson II.—What is an island"? A continent? 
What are shores or sea-coasts'? Capes'? What is a 
peninsula ? 



























THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT THE WATER. 


ISLANDS. 


When we find, on continents or on large is¬ 
lands, many miles of level ground, it is called a 
plain. 

A grassy plain, without trees, is a prairie. 

Deserts are large plains without even grass. 
They are covered only with dry sand for miles 
and miles ; except here and there a little cluster 
of trees, and perhaps a spring. 

Wdien the land in one spot rises into a high 
point, it is called a hill. 

\ ery high hills are called mountains. They 
are not often seen standing alone, but are in 
long rows or ridges, called mountain chains. 

Valleys are the low places between hills or 
mountains, and are often very long and wide. 


LESSON III. 

THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT THE WATER. 

You know that water takes the shape of 
whatever holds it, whether it is a tub, a pan, or 
a long trough. Now those great lands which I 
told you are called continents have between 
them great basins of water, which are called 
oceans. 

But you must remember that the edges or 
shores are not always smooth, but notched in 
and out. When there is quite a large notch in 
the land, with the water from the ocean run¬ 
ning up, it is a bay or gulf. 

If a bay is almost or quite shut in by land, 
it is called a sea : around every ocean, there¬ 
fore, are many seas, bays, and gulfs. The 
water of oceans is salt. 

When two points of land are so near to¬ 


gether as only to leave a narrow passage of 
water between, this passage is called a strait. 

L ou all know what a pond is ; and very large 
ponds are called lakes , which are smaller ba¬ 
sins of water away from the ocean. 

Most of you also know that water bubbling 

© 

up out S>f the ground, and making a little pool, 
is called a spring. Clear, cool water runs from 
this little pool, and forms a stream. If the land 
is flat, the little stream comes slowly through 
mud and leaves; but, if the spring is on a 
high hill, its stream rushes along fast enough, 
leaping, sparkling, and foaming over the rocks. 

After a while, the stream meets other little 
streams from other springs, and, joining together, 
they make a larger one, that still goes on, wind¬ 
ing, turning, and taking in other streams, until it 
grows so wide and deep that it is called a river. 

Small streams are called branches , or rivulets. 


LESSON IV. 


ISLANDS. 


A plain 7 A prairie 7 What are deserts 7 Hills 7 
Mountains 7 Valleys 7 

Lesson III. — What arc oceans 7 Bays or gulfs 7 


Everywhere in the midst of the water are 
scattered islands of all sizes, some large enough 
for many towns to be built on them, others so 
small that they are nothing more than big rocks 
in the water. Some islands are flat; some are 
high, with hills and mountains. The strangest 
of all are the coral islands. 

You have seen the bright red and the white 
coral, used for making beads and other pretty 
things. But perhaps you do not know that it 
is made by thousands of little animals, called 


Seas 7 What is a strait 7 A lake 7 A spring 7 How 
are rivers made 7 

Lesson IV. — Where are islands found ? Are they 
all alike? How is coral made? 





























10 


ISLANDS. 


polyps, that live fqr down in the water. The 
coral is sometimes found in beautiful branches, 
a foot or more long. Men dive under the water 
to get it, and often pieces are broken off and 
washed up on the shore by the waves. 

The beautiful, fine coral is rare, and only 
found in small quantities : but there are other 
animals that make a coarser, rougher coral; 
and it is of this rougher kind of coral that 
islands are made. 

These animals are at 
first little jelly-like sacs, 
floating about in the wa¬ 
ter ; but, after a while, 
they fasten themselves to 
the rocks under water, 
and never leave them 
again. Then the sacs 
open at the top, and lit¬ 
tle star-shaped mouths 

are formed. 

New animals come out from the old ones, like 
buds from a plant; and thus they increase rap¬ 
idly in numbers. Millions and millions of these 
small creatures are working day and night un¬ 
der the water, taking lime from it, and forming 
solid walls and partitions in their bodies, till at 
last they are wholly changed into rocky sub¬ 
stance, except their stomachs and mouths. Thus 
they build and grow, many of them working 
together, and winding about constantly, till they 
form, with their rocky walls, strange and beau¬ 
tiful shapes ; sometimes large branches, some¬ 
times clusters of cells like a honeycomb ; some¬ 
times they spread out like fans, and sometimes 
form long, round stems. 

The animals continue to add more and more 


What happens when the coral animals bring their work 
to the surface of water ? 


coral, until at last, coming near the surface of 
the water, they can build no longer. Then the 
waves, all the time rushing and beating against 
Floating logs, bits of wood, and sea-weeds, lodge 
the branches, break, and mix them together, 
on the points of rock, and in time decay, and 
make a little soil. Seeds are blown there from 
the land, spring up into plants, which die and 
make more soil, until, after a long, long time, 
the land spreads wider and deeper, trees grow 
up, and even men come and build their cities 
on the islands that were first made by little 
creatures not half so large as one’s finger. But 
how many years this must have taken ! and 
how many little workmen ! 

It is the fashion of these animals to build 
in a circle, for reasons you will understand 
by and by, so that, when the island comes to 
the surface of the water, it is a broad ring, 
with a pond or lake in the middle. These 
rings are not always round, but often longer 
one way, and have usually an opening some¬ 
where, so that ships often sail into the lakes 
from the open sea. 

Many of these coral islands, called atolls, are 
very beautiful; and, if you would know how 
they look, think of a wide belt of land not much 
above the w^ater, covered with trees and plants 
of the brightest green ; for it is always warm 
where the little coral animals live. Here and 
there are groves of cocoanut-trees waving their 
long feathery leaves high in the air, and bend¬ 
ing their tall stems in the wind. These groves 
are bordered on both sides, outward to the sea 
and inward to the lake, by a narrow band of 
shining white sand lying next to the blue water. 
All around outside come the great strong weaves, 
swelling slowly over the ocean, until they dash 



What is said of the coral islands ? 



















MOUNTAINS. 


11 



CORAL ISLAND. 


against the ring of rock with a roar, 
and burst into sparkling foam. But, 
while it is rough outside, the water 
inside the ring is still, and smooth 
as glass: for this reason, these in¬ 
side lakes, which are called lagoons , 
are good harbors for vessels. 


LESSON V. 

MOUNTAINS. 

Mountains, as you have learned, 

! are in rows or chains. Sometimes 
the chain is narrow ; sometimes it 
stretches out over quite a wide coun¬ 
try, with high valleys between the 
different tops, or peaks. The high¬ 
est mountains are about five miles 
high ; but not many are so high as 
this. 

You might think that mountains, with their 
steep, rough sides, often bare and rocky, would 
be of no use to us. But, though they are not 
good for fields or gardens, goats and cows and 
wild deer think their sides fine pasture-grounds ; 
for there are often patches of excellent grass, 
and rocks among which the goats leap. 

Beside this, mountains often contain many 
I treasures which we are glad to find and dig out. 

I Under the rocks and earth are great beds of 
coal, quantities of iron, copper, lead, apd even 
gold, silver, and diamonds. Digging out such 
things is called mining; and there are coal¬ 
mines, lead-mines, gold-mines, &c. 

When all the coal near the surface in one 
place has been dug from the earth, a deep hole 
is madef something like a well, which is called 

What are lagoons ? 

Lesson V. — Are all mountain-chains alike 1 


a shaft. Men go down through this shaft by 
ladders and ropes, and dig out more coal far down 
under the ground, and draw it up in large 
buckets. 

But, by digging away a great deal of coal and 
earth with it, after a while a large cave is made, 
and the miners must go farther and farther to 
find more coal. It is dark and dreary there : 
the air is damp and close, and men are often 
crushed to death by the earth falling upon them ; 
though they try to make it as safe as they can 
by leaving some parts untouched, reaching from 
top to bottom like pillars, and also by putting 
up wooden props. 

These mines are often very large, — far larger 
than you can imagine ; and hundreds of men 
work day and night in the dark holes with 

Of what use are mountains ? What is mining ? How 
I are mines made? 































12 


MOUNTAINS. 



COAL-MINE. 


torches and lanterns. Not only men, but 
women and children, work in mines ; and some¬ 
times miners eat and sleep under ground, and 
do not see daylight for many days. 

Beside the treasures buried in mountains, their 
sides are often covered with forests of tall pine- 
trees. From the trunks of these a sap, or juice, 
runs out, which makes turpentine, rosin, and 
other useful things. Great quantities of char¬ 
coal and tar are also made from the pine wood, 
and the tallest, straightest trunks are used for 
making masts of ships, i 

But the pine woods and mines do not extend 


Of what use arc pine forests ? 


to the tops of the mountains, 
that' is, of the high ones ; and, 
if we go very far up, there will 
no longer be any trees, only a 
few stunted bushes and moss¬ 
es, and we shall begin to feel 
very cold. If we still have 
courage to go on, we shall 
find the mountain toward the 
top covered with snow, even 
in summer and in a hot coun¬ 
try ; for, so high above the 
surface of the earth, it is al¬ 
ways cold. 

The snow among the high 
tops melts very little. Great 
fields of snow are found be¬ 
tween the peaks, and the nar¬ 
row valleys are filled with it. 
Though the heat of summer 
in these high valleys is not 
enough to really melt it, some¬ 
times it thaws a little and 
freezes again, and at last be¬ 
comes ice mixed with snow 
and water, and begins to slip slowly, slowly 
down the narrow mountain valleys like real 
moving ice rivers, which are called glaciers . 

These great white rivers creep for miles 
among the snowy tops, and sometimes reach as 
far down as the grass fields around the little vil¬ 
lages, into the very midst of the hardy little 
wild flowers. The people who live in such 
a illagcs are accustomed to the snows above 
them, and to the steep mountain paths; but 
strangers often find the way dangerous. 

Still stranger than the snow-covered moun- 


M hat is found on the tojis of high mountains ? 
are glaciers ? 






































































MOUNTAINS. 


PRAIRIES. 





tains are the fire moun¬ 
tains, —•'always hot and 
smoking, and often blaz¬ 
ing up, throwing out red- 
hot stones and a melt¬ 
ed substance called lava. 

These burning mountains 
are found mostly in warm 
countries. They are called 
volcanoes , and the large 
hole at the top from which 
the flames and smoke come 
out is a crater. Sometimes, 
after a volcano has been 
quiet for a long time, 
great smoke will burst out 
with strong odors of sul¬ 
phur and gas ; then follow 
lumps of rock, and lava 
which runs down the sides 
in large streams that some¬ 
times flow over farms and 
even towns. After a time the flames and roar¬ 
ing noise cease, the lava becomes cold and 
hard like stone, and the people around who had 
run away go back to see if their homes are 
safe. I dare say some of you have seen bits of 
lava made into bracelets and ear-rings ; for it is 
a curiosity here. It is of several colors, — 

| brown, slate, tea-colored, and white. 


LESSON VI. 

PRAIRIES. 

Prairies are great level lands, sometimes 
reaching for many miles over the country, hav¬ 
ing only here and there a clump of trees. The 


prairie-grass is long and thick, and makes good 
food for large herds of cattle, horses, and bisons. 
In some countries, men are out all the time catch¬ 
ing wild horses or cattle from the troops that 
go galloping over the prairie. These cattle- 
hunters have swift horses of their own, and hold 
ready in their hands a long rope with a slip-knot 
at one end. When they overtake a troop of 
horses, they choose one, and quickly throw the 
knot over his head, keeping the other end in their 
hands. The knot slips close, and holds the 
horse fast. In some places, the horses are 
caught by the leg instead of the neck ; and, from 
long practice, these hunters become very skilful 
in throwing the knotted rope, which is called a 
lasso. 


AVhat are volcanoes 1 What is lava ? 


Lesson VI. — What are prairies 1 What is a lasso 1 


















































14 PRAIRIES. 


A prairie on fire is a grand and beautiful 
sight; that is, if one can see it without being in 
danger. Such a fire sometimes occurs toward 
the end of summer, when the long grass is dry, 
and burns easily. It may catch from the camp¬ 
fires of hunters ; and, once lighted, the flames 
rush over miles and miles of prairie-land. Often 
in warm seasons the prairies are covered with 
beautiful flowers of all colors, looking gay and 
bright amidst the green grass. In some places, 
during the rainy season, it is hard travelling 
across the flat prairie, — for, as there are no 
rocks, it is very muddy ; and wagons are made 
for the purpose, with broad wheels that do not 
sink down easily. 

Some prairies, instead of being perfectly flat, 
are wave-like, with very low, rounding hills or 
swells ; and these are called rolling prairies 


LESSON VII. 

DESERTS. 

If any of you live in the country, or have 
taken journeys, you must sometimes have seen 
places where the land looked very poor, with 
large patches of bare, reddish earth, and only 
scattered bushes or straggling weeds ; but the 
very barest hillside or most worn-out old field 
you ever saw is a garden compared to a real 
desert. 

Far away on the other side of the round 
earth are several deserts, so large that it is a 
journey of many days across one of them. We 
may stand in the midst of a desert, and, even 
with the best eyes, look as far as we can, and 
see not a blade of grass, nor the least little 

What is said of a fire on a prairie ? What of the flow¬ 
ers 1 Is it always good travelling on prairies ? What 
are rolling prairies ? 


DESERTS. 


weed ; nothing but sand, sand, hot shining sand, 
that hurts the eyes, and burns the feet. And, all 
around, this sand is flat and smooth, unless the 
wind has heaped it in little mounds, or swells. 
If we were travelling across one of these deserts, 
we should, perhaps, go on for several days, see¬ 
ing every day the same tiresome sand, with no 
grass, no trees, no streams of water ; and we 
might come at last to a large patch of grass, and 
a cluster of tall trees bearing dates, — the small 
fruit that we get dried and packed in brown, 
sticky lumps, but which is there fresh and 
smooth like a plum. But better than green 
grass, and better than the shade of trees, is the 
spring or well of fresh water that we should find ; 
for of that we should be in great need. Such a 
green spot in a desert is called an oasis. But 
how do you think people and horses could 
go without water for two or three days at a 
time? It is very true, horses could not; and, 
for this reason, they are not used for travelling 
in deserts when the way is long; but camels 
are used instead. If you have never seen a 
camel at a menagerie, I must tell you that it is 
a tall, long-necked, long-legged creature, with a 
great hump on its back. Upon these useful ani¬ 
mals a man may ride, and pack a large load of 
merchandise, — that is, goods which he buys or 
sells ; for in this way every thing is carried across 
the desert, instead of in wagons or cars : so that 
people say of a man there, “ He is worth so 
many camel-loads.” 

But all this has nothing to do with the water. 
What makes the camel so well fitted for travel¬ 
ling over the vast plains of dry, hot sand ? It 
is because he can travel a number of days with¬ 
out drinking. He is able to do this by means of 

Lesson VII. — What are deserts ? Are they ever 
large ? What is an oasis ? What animal is used for 
travelling across deserts ? 




































a sort of bag or pouch at the bottom of his long 
throat. He tills this bag, after drinking what 
he needs ; and it holds enough water to last him 
several days. As there are many of those 
small, green watering-places scattered over the 
desert, travellers do not suffer much if they 
manage their journey rightly; for they can 
carry enough water or wine in bottles for their 
own use. 

A ant of water is not the only danger in cross¬ 
ing the deserts. At some seasons of the year, 
very strong winds blow, and often come up sud¬ 
denly. Now, as the sand lies loose for some 
depth, clouds of it are lifted up in the air by 
these winds, and, coming with great violence, 


sometimes bury or suffocate people ; eyes, mouth, 
nose, and even ears, being filled with sand. If 
the travellers see the sand-cloud coming, they 
jump from their camels, and throw themselves 
flat on the ground, with their feet toward the 
wind, and cover their heads. Even camels 
have sense enough to kneel, and turn away their 
faces. 

On account of these and other dangers, peo¬ 
ple do not travel alone over the deserts, but in 
large companies, chiefly of merchants, buying 
at one place, and selling at another. A com¬ 
pany of merchants with their loaded camels, 
and men to drive them, and any other persons 
who choose to join them, is called a caravan. 


Why are camels used in travelling across deserts % 
What are sand-storms ? 


IIow do people journey across deserts ? 










































16 


SHORES OR S E A- C O A S T S. 



LESSON VIII. 

SHORES OR SEA-COASTS. 

You remember that the edges of the land, 
where it touches the water, are jagged and un¬ 
even, running out and in, and making points, or 
capes, of every size. There is a great difference 
in these coasts. Sometimes the land rises all at 
once high out of the water, like a great, rough 
wall, with the rocks cut and worn in deep 
cracks. Such steep coast-rocks are called cliffs. 

As the sea is generally deep where the shore is 
| high, the strong waves dash against the huge 
| rocks ; curling and foaming with a loud roar, 
mingled with a sound of dashing and splashing. 
And if, as is often the case, many large rocks lie 

Lesson VIII. — What arc cliff's ? What is said of 
I the sea near rocky coasts ? 


scattered in the sea along 
the coast for half a mile 
out, then what rushing and 
whirling ! When there is 
a storm, the water roars 
louder than ever, and leaps 
against the cliffs, dashing 
about as if it were mad. 

Ships cannot always sail 
near such a rocky coast as 
this with safety ; and often 
on a point of rock there is 
built a tall, narrow tower, 
called a lighthouse , because 
in the top of it is hung a 
large lantern, giving a light 
that can be seen far out on 
the water, showing the sail¬ 
ors where the dangerous 
places arc. 

The land sometimes 
slopes gently down to the 
water, making a belt of pebbles and shells, or 
of smooth, white sand. Such a low, sloping 
coast is a beach. The great, blue sea rolls up 
slowly and gently, with a low, pleasant sound, 
far over the beach, and then rolls back, leaving 
on the sand, shells, bits of coral, sponge, and sea¬ 
weeds, beside numbers of tiny living creatures, 
which it is amusing to look at, — little star- 
shaped things with long feelers, which they fling 
about, searching for the water that has left them. 
Quite unlike these are bits of jelly-like substance, 
which you would never think were animals, un¬ 
less you could see them swimming ; when they 
change, like fairies, into beautiful, gay-colored 
creatures. Then there are hundreds of funny 
little brown crabs that always run sideways, 

What is a lighthouse'? A beach? What arc found 
on beaches? 



















































shores or sea-coasts, oceans. 


17 


and very fast too, though 
not prettily. 

There is a fresh, pleas¬ 
ant breeze blowing in from 
the water, generally in 
the afternoon ; and this is 
called a sea-breeze. 

If there is a bay in a 
high coast, it makes what 
is called a harbor, or safe 
place for ships to stop in. 
When the harbor is very 
good, a large city often 
grows up there. 

If you lived in such a 
you would no long¬ 
er have a pleasant beach 
to walk on. Warehouses 
would stand in rows, full of 
hogsheads of sugar, sacks 
of coffee, barrels of fish, 
and other things. The 



shore would be covered with boxes and barrels, 
carts and drays, and men shouting and hurrying. 

here the crabs and jelly-fishes used to come up, 
there would be probably a sort of long platform, 
called a wharf, built far out into the water, so 
that vessels could be easily loaded and unloaded. 

Low coasts are often bordered by banks of 
sand, which it is dangerous for ships to ap¬ 
proach. 


LESSON IX. 

OCEANS. 

1- — The Water of the Ocean . 

Those who have only seen rivers or lakes 
cannot have much idea of the great ocean, where, 


What is a harbor ? What is seen if a city is built on a 
good harbor? What is a wharf? Where are there no 
good harbors ? 

3 


a sign of land. 

If you stand on the shore, and look over the 
water, far away the blue waves roll, until they 
seem to reach the sky. The ocean is never 
quite still; for even on a pleasant, mild day, 
when there is no wind, the great, blue surface 
of the water is always rolling slowly in long, 
broad waves ; and each wave, when it has risen 
as high as it can, curls into a white foam at the 
top, and then sinks down, and makes way for 
another. And so they go on, swelling, rising, 
foaming, sinking, one after another, day after 
day, year after year; but sometimes, when the 
wind blows hard, they dash so high, that many 
a ship is broken and lost. 


Lesson IX. — Hoav does the ocean look as you stand 
on the shore ? 


for days and days, one may sail without seeing j 


/ 





































18 


OCEANS. 


Beside the moving of the waves, the water 
rises and sinks again along the shores twice 
every day. These risings and fallings are called 
tides ; and you will understand their cause better 
by and by. The tides are not of the same height 
everywhere. In some places, the rise is only a 
foot or two ; while, in others, the water at high 
tide covers quite large islands and rocks along 
the shore that were dry before. 


LESSON X. 

OCEANS. — CONTINUED. 

2. — What is on the Water of the Ocean. 

If oceans were not between the portions of 
land, we should not live so comfortably; for we 
need many things not found in our country, and 
the people on the other side of the earth need 
things which we have : so all gain by exchanging 
one thing for another. This selling qnd buy¬ 
ing is called trade, or commerce ; and the more 
any country trades, the richer it becomes. All' 
the things brought into a country are called its 
imports: all those sent out of the country are 
called its exports. 

Now, if every thing had to be carried by land, 
it would be tedious work, especially if the things 
were very heavy ; and beside that, so costly, that 
often merchants would not be paid for their 
time and trouble. But, on water, great weights 
may be carried with ease and speed, and also 
much more cheaply. On the oceans, therefore, 
are many vessels, sailing here and there in all 
directions, carrying all sorts of things to all 
sorts of people. 

Vessels cannot stop out in the open sea, but 

What motion has the water beside that of waves ? 

Lesson X. — What is commerce 1 Why cannot peo¬ 
ple trade wholly by land ? 


must come near the shore, into good harbors, 
where the water is not so deep. Here a strong 
chain is thrown from the vessel, with a huge 
piece of iron at one end, called an anchor , which 
sinks deep into the mud at the bottom of the 
water, and holds fast. Of course, large cities 
will generally be built near good harbors, where 
ships filled with merchandise can anchor in 
safety. 


LESSON XI. 

OCEANS.-CONTINUED. 

3. — What is under the Water of the Ocean. 

You will expect to find fishes in the sea, of 
course ; and there are many things beside. The 
fishes are of various size and color. Many are 
good for food, or useful in other ways ; and 
some are much to be feared. 

There is a slender little fish called the flying- 
fish ; not because it flies high in the air, like a 
bird, but because every little while it darts out 
of the water, and often falls upon vessels. It 
is a strange sight when a whole flock fly to¬ 
gether. 

In warm places, when the weather is pleasant, 
sailors sometimes see, gliding over the blue wa¬ 
ter, delicate, gauzy-looking balls, as big as one’s 

fist, with all the colors of the rainbow shining 

© 

through them,—blue, green, yellow, violet,— all 
sparkling in the sunshine. These beautiful little 
creatures swell out in this way when sailing on 
the water, but are really very small. They are 
called, by the sailors, Portuguese men-of-war. 

Often there are seen following vessels monstrous 
fishes, with long mouths, armed with two rows of 
sharp, strong teeth, ready to devour any thing 

Why are good harbors necessary 'i What is an anchor ? 

Lesson XI. — What do we find in the sea ? What 
is a flying-fish ? A* shark ? 

























OCEANS. 


that comes in their way. These are sharks: and 
the sailors fear them greatly ; for they are indeed 
terrible creatures, and sometimes even eat men. 
If a poor fellow happens to fall overboard when 
sharks are near, he is sometimes seized, and 
torn in pieces, before a boat can be let down to 
save him. 

Of all creatures living in the sea, the whale is 
the largest, and one of the most useful. This 
huge animal is almost like an island when lying 
still in the water; but one can distinguish him 
far off by an appearance of water spouting out 
of his nostrils. People kill whales to get their 
fat, which makes oil for lamps, and a fluid called 
spermaceti, from which candles are made. 

A horny substance, which we call whalebone, 
is also taken from the whale’s mouth. Many 
vessels are sent every year to catch whales ; and, 
as the whalers stay out until they get as many 
barrels of oil as the ships can carry, they are 
sometimes gone a long time. 

It is difficult and dangerous to take whales ; 
and men often lose their lives in this business. 
When the sailors see a whale, they lower small 
boats into the water, and row in them until 
they approach him, taking care not to frighten 
him. They have a long spear, called a har¬ 
poon, with a rope tied to one end; and a 
man throws this spear at the whale as hard 
as he can. The huge creature then plunges 
deep into the water: but the rope is let loose 
by the men; and sometimes, before they can 
strike him again, he lashes the water with his 
tail, so hard as to upset the boat, and drown 
the sailors. 

If they succeed in killing the whale, the ves¬ 
sel is brought near ; and the men jump upon the 
great back of the monster, and cut off the fat 

What is said of the whale ? What is taken from the 
whale beside oil? IIow arc whales caught? 


in large lumps, which are afterward boiled to 
make oil. 

Thele are many small animals in the ocean that 
live near the shore, among the rocks and sand. 
Oysters, for instance, live* each one, between 
two rough shells shut tightly together, except 
when the oyster opens them a little way to let 
in water, bringing with it the tiny creatures on 
which it feeds. Almost everybody likes to eat 
oysters ; and cans and kegs are filled with them, 
and sent to cities far away from the sea; for 
oysters cannot live in the fresh waters of rivers 
or lakes. 

Lobsters, also, are good for eating* They 
are curious, jointed animals ; and, when they are 
boiled, their hard shells turn from greenish-brown 
to a bright red. 

The clam is another shell-fish ; and boys and 
girls living near the seashore go in parties, and 
have quite a merry-making in digging the clams 
out of the sand, and building a great fire on the 
stones to roast them. I cannot think of telling 
you about all the fishes that are! taken from the 
ocean for food. In some towns, it is the business 
of the people to catch fish, salt them, and pack 
them in barrels to send to those who have no 
fish near them. 

The best of these salted fish are salmon, cod, 
and mackerel. 

There are many strange creatures in the sea 
not used for food. You remember the little 
coral animals. There is another little creature 
which makes the sponge , such as you use for 
your slates or for bathing. This is found in 
bunches, clinging fast by one end to rocks under 
the water ; or sometimes bits of it are dashed on 
shore by the waves, especially in a storm. 

Beside these living creatures, many plants 

What smaller animals are spoken of? What kinds of 
I fish are salted ? What is said of sponge? 































() C K A N S. 


S ! It I N (J S. 


It I V K It S. 


‘JO 


called seaweeds ^row near I lie. whore, lull under 
11 10 wuler, mid often come dunlin”; lo the sur- 
lace. Some of them nre used lor food Ify peo- 
ple living on (lie seashore; some are useful in 
making glass and other things ; and some are 
carted away by farmers to spread over their 
fields as manure. 

Many seaweeds are very beautiful, with bright 
colors, red, yellow, purple, and green : some have 
broad leaves, like fans; and others have tine, 
delicate branches, like tiny feathers. It is pretty 
work to press such seaweeds on paper ; and girls 
often amuse themselves by gathering them on 
the beaches. 


LESSON XII. 

SPRINGS. 

In many parts of the country, springs of pure 
water abound. 

1 hit beside the springs of good, clear water, 
you have heard of, or seen, sulphur-springs or 
iron-springs. You know that iron and other 
minerals, such as sulphur, copper, &c., as well 
as different, kinds of salts, are found under the 
ground, mixed with the earth. The water, in 
some places, takes up particles of these minerals, 
as the stream flows over them, and tastes strong- 
ly of them. 

AY hen such water bursts out in a spring, it is 
called a mineral spring; and these springs are 
often of much use. The waters are good for 
many diseases ; and large hotels are sometimes 
built, near the springs, for the persons who go 
to drink the mineral water. 

A\ r hat nre seaweeds ? Are they of any use? 

Lesson XII.— A hy do not all springs give pure wa¬ 
ter'? Of what use are mineral springs ? What are hot 
springs ? I low do rivers begin ? Which wav do they! 


In some parts of the world, there are hot 
HfirntfjH , where, though the water is clear and 
sparkling, it. is as warm as if it had been heated 
on the fire. 

RIVERS. 

I have already told you that rivers rise from 
springs or small lakes. The water flows along 
in whatever direction it finds the ground sloping 
down ; since water, you know, cannot run up¬ 
ward. Therefore, the beginning of a river — 
which is called its source — must always be 
higher than its end, which is called its mouth. 
A river must also be much smaller at the source 
than at the mouth ; for the longer it runs, the 
more streams flow into it. The largest rivers, 
then, will lie those which flow through a great 
distance before reaching some ocean or sea. 

Now, water will run faster down a hill than 
on a level ; so that rivers flowing through the 
most sloping country will move most quickly : 
and often the water, finding steep rocks in the 
way, must tumble over them all at once ; which 
it does with a great gushing, spattering noise, 
whirling and foaming, as you may know if you 
have ever seen a mill-dam, or even the water of 
a little brook running over stones. What must 
it be, then, when the whole water of a great 
river falls over a high ledge of rocks? 

This often happens in rapid rivers, and is 
called a waterfall , or cataract. If it is only a 
narrow stream of water, leaping lightly down a 
steep place, it is a cascade. 

Fast-running rivers, with low falls here and 
there, are the best on which to build mills, since 
there is always a rush of water to turn the 

run ? AY hat is the end of a river called ? The beginning ? 
AA r hicli is t he higher ? Where will the large rivers be ? 
AVliat is a waterfall? A cascade? Of what use are 
falls? 




























wheels. As large mills are needed for making 
| cloth > grinding corn, sawing plank, and many 
other things, these small rivers are very useful, 
even when they are not big enough for boats to 
sail upon. For these reasons, towns are gener¬ 
ally built near some river, unless they are on 
the seashore ; and even then it is well to have a 
river near. 


LESSON XIII. 

t RAIN. 

As Avater is useful to us in so many ways, we 
like to know something about it; and since 
rivers are all the time flowing into the ocean or 
seas, and carrying water there, where does all 
the water come from that not only keeps the 

Lesson' XIII. —Why do we wish to learn all we can 
about water ? 


rivers full, but sometimes makes them overflow 
their banks ? j • 

^ ou may think it comes from the ground, 
since springs arc found there : but then, you will 
remember, the earth is at times dry and parched i 
quite deep down ; so that many springs dry up, 
and farmers complain that the crops are spoiled. 
What is everybody longing for, and every thing 
suffering for, at such times? Rain, you say; 
and that is just it. The rain falls, the water 
sinks into the earth, thousands of little rivulets 
come rushing down every steep place in the j 
country, and perhaps the snows far off on the 
mountain-tops melt, and come pouring down, 
swelling the streams with more water to carry 
to the sea. 

But where does the rain come from? Oh! 

What keeps the rivers full? Where does rain come 
from? 














































f 


V A P O 11. T II E SUN. 


from the clouds in the sky, you say. But, after 
all, perhaps you cannot tell how the clouds 
came there. 

You often see wet clothes hung out to dry, 
and the water in them is soon gone ; and, if you 
set a plate full of water out of doors, the water 
will slowly disappear, or, as you say, dry up. 
But the water from the clothes and the plate 
must be somewhere ; and, in fact, it is in the 
air. Now, the air is always taking up water from 
the ground, from ponds, lakes, and even from 
the great ocean itself; so that you see the water 
is changing round all the time. It comes from 
the clouds pure and tasteless : it runs through 
the earth, getting a little of its minerals ; and 
into the ocean, where it is bitter and salt; and 
at last to the sky once more, where it is all pure 
again. 

VAPOR. 

Since water is constantly rising into the air, 
it must be all the time around us in the air we 
breathe ; and this is true : yet we do not see it, 
unless it falls in rain ; neither can we see it 
when it is actually rising from the earth, though 
it disappears before our eyes. 

The fact is, it rises in a thinner, lighter form ; 
for a Avhole drop of water could not be lifted up 
without being changed. 

While the water is rising into the air around 
us, it is called vapor , or moisture. 

When we feel this moisture, or vapor, we call 
it dampness. 

When the vapor becomes so thick that we can 
see it, we call it mist , or fog. 

But at last, when the air has received as much 

What happens when wet clothes are hung out to dry ? 
Is there always water in the air ? Why do we not sec 
it always ? What is vapor ? Dampness ? Mist, or fog ? 
When must rain fall ? What difference does the amount 


as it can hold, then the moisture gathers in 
clouds, and down it pours in drops of rain. 

The degree of moisture in the air around us 
makes a great difference to plants and animals, 
as well as to our own feelings, and often helps 
to make one country quite different from an¬ 
other. Where it is warm and very damp, trees 
and plants grow very large, and there are many 
serpents and insects ; but, where it is dry and 
hot, the leaves of plants are small, and mostly 
strong-smelling; and fierce animals live in such 
places. 


LESSON XIV. 

THE SUN.-LIGHT AND HEAT. 

Now you have found out how the rain fills 
the rivers, how the moisture in the air makes 
the rain, and how the surface of the earth gives 
out moisture. 

But what causes the moisture to rise ? As 
we always like to hang wet clothes in the sun¬ 
shine, and as they will also dry by a fire, it must 
be heat that dries them chiefly ; though they will 
always dry faster if kept in motion, as in a wind. 

In many ways, therefore, the sun is of great 
use to us. Indeed, we could not do without it, 
unless we were changed into very different crea¬ 
tures. The sun not only gives us light, but also 
heat, without which we could not live ; and 
lastly, it keeps the waters in order by taking 
moisture up from the great oceans and lakes, 
and showering it down over the land, making all 
green things grow, and filling the streams and 
rivers. 


of moisture in the air make to plants and animals? 
Who can tell the whole story of the rain? 

Lesson XIV. — What causes moisture to rise ? What 
gives us heat ? Of what other use is the sun ? 





































the sun. climate. 


23 


If the sun shone upon the whole surface of 
the earth at once, there would he no night. 
But, as the world is shaped like a ball, only 
one-half can be lighted at one time. This you 
will see if you hold a large ball near a lighted 
candle. The side next the candle will be in the 
light, while the opposite side is dark. 

But you can turn the ball round ; and, instead 
ot the same side always being lighted, the can¬ 
dle will shine first upon one part of the ball, and 
then upon another. 

This is just what happens with the earth and 
the sun. Though you seem to see the sun in 
different places, it really does not move ; and it 
is the earth turning very fast which makes the 
sun appear to move ; just as, when you are riding 
very fast, the trees on the roadside seem to move. 

You can remember that this motion of the 
earth is like that of a top spinning round and 
round, and that the earth turns round once every 
day. In this way, it is daylight in some lands 
while it is night in others ; for whichever part is 
turned away from the sun has night, and each 
part takes its turn. 

T ou will see, now, that what we call day is our 
time for the sun. When we are just turning in¬ 
to the light, it is morning; and we say the sun 
rises. W hen we are turning away from the 
light, it is evening ; and we say the sun sets. 

Heat also changes with the light. When the 
sunbeams fall directly upon any part of the 
earth’s surface, they give much heat as well as 
light; and so the noon is the hottest part of the 
day. At morning and evening, the beams slant 
off more ; and therefore it is cooler. 

You cannot understand the reason for the 
difference between the heat of summer and winter 

Why do we have day and night? Why is it cooler 
at morning and evening than at noon ? Why are some 
parts of the world always hot, and others always cold ? 


until you are older; but we will take the ball 
again, and try to learn why some parts of the 
earth are always hot , and other parts always cold. 
Let us mark on the ball two spots opposite each 
other, and then hold it so that the light of the 
candle shall fall directly upon another spot half¬ 
way between these two. You will see that the 
light is brightest just in this last spot, and grows 
fainter around it as the rays slant off. Now, 
tinning the ball carefully, and passing a pencil 
over the brightest parts, it will make a line en¬ 
tirely round the ball just half-way between the 
spots Ave first marked ; and this line we may call 
the equator. 

This is the way that the earth moves ; and 
there is a great belt on its surface many miles 
wide, where the sunshine is always hot; and 
the lands that lie in this space are much warmer 
than those beyond it. 

The sun’s rays slant off more and more on 
each side of this belt, until at two opposite 
places, corresponding to the spots we first marked 
on our ball, there is very little light or heat. 

These places are called poles; and the lands 
around them are covered with snow. The parts 
between these and the hot lauds are sometimes 
cold, and sometimes hot, and are called temper¬ 
ate countries. 


LESSON XV. 

CLIMATE. 

Here are now some things to remember well. 
The sun shining on the earth makes heat for 
us. 

A circle round that part of the earth’s surface 

Can you explain this lesson with a ball and candle ? 
Lesson XV. I ell all the things in this lesson there 
are to be well remembered. 










































24 


CLIMATE. DIRECTION. 


where the sunlight is brightest and hottest is 
called the equator. 

The sunlight slants off more and more as 
the distance from this line increases ; and, at the 
two opposite places most distant from the equa¬ 
tor, there is scarcely any heat or light. 

These places are called poles. One is the 
north pole, and the other the south pole. 

Climate is a name for the different weather 
in different places. 

All lands near the poles are cold, and cov¬ 
ered with snow; and all low lands near the 
equator have a hot climate. 

Now you may draw on your slates a circle to 
represent the earth, and divide it so as to show 

Fig. 1. Fig. 2 . 

Pole. Pole. 




where we find these different climates. Fig. 1. 
These belts around the earth are called zones; 
but there are many reasons why there is not an 
equal degree of heat on all parts of the lines 
that divide them. Fig. 2 will better represent 
lines of equal heat and cold. 

Beside these differences of heat, there is an¬ 
other change that you cannot understand so 
well: but you can remember, that, in all parts of 
the world, the higher we go up above the earth’s 
surface, the colder it is ; and this is why high 
mountain-tops are always covered with snow, 
though sugar-cane and oranges may grow at 
their bases. So here are two ways, Figs. 3 and 
4, to represent degrees of heat: — 


Pig. 3. 

Pole. 



PART SECOND. 


LESSON I. 

DIRECTION.-DISTANCE. 

Who can tell me what I mean when I say, 
“In what direction are you going ? ” or, “I 
shall walk in such a direction ” ? 


T ou all know how to find your own homes, 
and the homes of your different friends, and 
when to turn up one street or road, and when 
to turn down another; that is, you understand 
in what direction you must go in order to reach 
certain places. 


Lesson I- — What do we mean by direction ? 






































DIRECTION. MAP S. 


25 


Now, if you wish to tell a person where a 
house is, you can do so by naming the streets 
to be passed through, or the houses on the way. 
But in the country, and far away in woods or 
deserts, or on the wide ocean, where there are 
neither houses nor roads, people could not 
travel without some way of knowing different 
directions. And it must be a way that every¬ 
body can understand, or one person could not 
explain to others exactly where he had been ; 
and two persons could not find the same coun¬ 
try, except by chance. 

So, all over the world, people have come to 
learn direction by the sun, which can be seen 
by all, whether on land or water. Where the 
sun seems to rise is called east; where it seems to 
set is west. When one stands with the right 
hand toward the east, and the left to the west, 
his face will be turned to the north, and his 
back to the south: so that east and west are 
opposite directions, and so also are north and 
south. Knowing these four directions, — north, 
east, south, and west, — men can easily travel 
over the world, and find the places they look 
for. 

But, to save a great deal of trouble, they must 
know one thing more ; and that is, how far to 
go in one direction. Suppose one man tells an¬ 
other, that, to find a certain town, he must travel 
north, and afterward turn to the east: this man 
must have some idea how far north to go before 
turning east. For this reason, people every¬ 
where have land-measures, such as miles; and 
degrees, which are much longer than miles. 
You see, then, how quickly one could find a 
town if he -were told to go for twenty miles 


Why must all people have the same way of telling 
direction ? How do we leam direction ? What else be¬ 
side direction must we think of in travelling? 


toward the north, and then turn to the east and 
go on six miles farther. In this way, people 
can travel everywhere, even on the ocean, where 
there are no paths. Looking at the sun every 
little while, the sailors know in what direction 
they are going, and, counting the distance they 
have sailed, how far they have yet to go. 

Beside the four great points, — north, south, 
east, and west, — we often use four more just 
between these. 

Half-way between north and east we call north¬ 
east ; half-way between south and east is south¬ 
east ; and then there will 
be north-west and south- North . ^ 

west. Sailors have even \ | ^ 

more than these; and 

these directions are all East - 

marked down, and called //T\ 

the compass ; somewhat ^ f °% 

like this:— South> \ 


LESSON II. 

MAPS. 

For this lesson, I should like to show you 
what the plan of a house is. You know what 
a picture is, and that a picture of a house can 
give us quite a good idea of the house when we 
are not near it. But then we see only half of 
the house : for, if the picture represents the front, 
we cannot see the back ; or, if one side is drawn, 
we cannot see the other, — whether it has 
doors, windows, or porches. Now, it often 
happens, that, for building or other purposes, it 
is necessary to understand exactly about all 


What is a compass ? In what direction is your school- 
house from the nearest church ? 

Lesson II. — What is a picture ? 


4 






























Chimney. Chimney. Side. 


26 


MAPS. 


parts of the house at once : and this can be done 
by a sort of drawing called a plan; that is, a 
drawing of only the floors of the house. These 
plans, though not pretty, like pictures, are yet 
very useful. 

Let us see, now, if we can draw the plan of a 
house. It will be quite easy, — only a few 
straight lines. First, we will make for the 
front edge of the floor a long line, so 


Fig. 1. 



Back. 


6 

'O 



r Ji 

Front. 

CC 


Fig. 2. 



Back. 



Next, making the corner square as it is, we 

will draw a line for one 
side, and we shall have 
the two lines, thus 
and then add the other 
side, thus LJ- And, 
when the last line for 
the back edge of the 
floor is made, there will 
be the shape of the 
house, as in Fig. 1. But 
let us divide this floor 
into three rooms, — a 
large room on one side 
of the passage, and two 
small ones on the other 
side, as in Fig. 2. Then 
places for the doors and 
^Windows, windows can be marked 
Door ' out by leaving open 

places in the floor-lines. 
When all this is done, 
the plan, or floor-picture, 
will be finished (Fig. 3), 
and carpenters could 
build from it another 
house just like it. 

Each of you can try to make a plan for to- 


Windowg. 


Front. 

Fig. 3. 

Steps. 




it 


C l 2 § 

' 3 G 

Windows. 


Door 


] 


Q 

Windows. 


Steps. 


morrow, either of the sclroolhouse, or of your 
own dwelling;. 

You will see now, that though many pictures 
have been made of different parts of the earth, 
still those who have never seen the places could 
not learn where they were, nor how large, nor 
of what shape. So we are obliged to have 
plans of the earth’s surface, — plans of islands, 
oceans, continents, — made by men who have 
seen them. But you must remember that the 
edges of land are not straight, like the edges of a 
floor, and must be drawn with all the gulfs and 
bays ; so that the plan, or ground, of an island, 
might look somewhat like this (Fig. 4) : — 

And just as doors 
and windows are 
represented by little 
lines that do not look 
much like them, so 
the mountains, riv¬ 
ers, and towns are 
marked out by signs 
that every one knows, 
as you may see. 

These plans of land and water are called 
maps ; and by them you will learn where all the 
counti ies of the world are, with their mountains, 
rivers, and towns. 

Maps are generally made with the top for the 
north, and the right side for the east, the bot¬ 
tom for the south, and the left side for the 
west. 

Sometimes you will see one map much larger 
than another of the same country ; but that is 
only like having a portrait and a miniature of 
the same person. The measure in miles is al¬ 
ways the same in reality. 


Fig. 4. 



What is the plan of a house ? What are maps ? Which 
part of the map is generally north ? 


Are maps of the same country always of the same 
size? 


/ 






















































THE HEMISPHERES. MAPS. 


27 


You must be very careful to remember this, 
or you will get queer notions of the world. We 
cannot always use a map with the whole of the 
earth’s surface upon it, because there would not 
be room to mark half the rivers and towns. 
Some parts of the world are so thickly settled 
that the towns are not more than a mile or two 
apart, and the map of such a country will need 
room for a great many names ; while, again, 
there are miles of wild woods, or desert land, 
with scarcely a house or village. So it often 
happens that for the smallest countries we need 
the largest maps ; but you must never forget 
how the different continents compare with each 
other in size ou the map of the world. 

I think you will understand all this easily 
enough when you remember how often you see 
in one book a very little picture of a horse, and 
in another book quite a large picture of a but¬ 
terfly. Yet you never suppose that a butterfly 
is as big as a horse ; and this is because you 
know so well their real size. 

Just so you should look at the countries on 
the map of the world until you are quite sure 
how they .compare with each other in size. 
Their form is always the same, whether they 
are drawn large or small. 


LESSON III. 

THE HEMISPHERES. 

The best way to learn about tlje surface of 
the earth is to have a map drawn on a round 
wooden ball, which would look like a little 
world ; but thi$ is not always convenient, and 

Why do we sometimes need a large map of a small 
country ? 

Lesson III. — What is the best way to represent the 
surface of the earth ? What way is more convenient ? 


we are obliged to have maps made on flat 
paper. This is easy enough when only the 
map of a part of the earth is made : but it is 
hard to make the whole round surface at once 
on paper; therefore it is the custom to divide it 
into two equal parts. 

Any round ball is a sphere; and half of the 
ball would be half a sphere, or a hemisphere. 

On the following pages are two maps, each 
representing half the earth’s surface. One is 
called the map of the Eastern Hemisphere , and 
the other the map of the Western Hemisphere. 

On the Eastern Hemisphere, you will find 
three continents, and a very large island, which 
may be called a fourth continent. The names 
of these continents are Europe, Asia, Africa, 
and Australia. 

On the map of the Western Hemisphere, you 
will find two continents, — North America and 
South America. These two were not known by 
the people living in the eastern continents for a 
long, long time ; and for this reason the West¬ 
ern Hemisphere is often called the New World. 

These continents are separated by large 
oceans, and in the oceans are scattered many 
islands. 

Around the North Pole is the Arctic Ocean. 
Just opposite this, around the South Pole, is the 
Antarctic Ocean. Between Asia, Africa, and 
Australia is the Indian Ocean. That long 
ocean, reaching from the Arctic to the Antarc¬ 
tic, with Europe and Africa on one side, and 
America on the other, is the Atlantic. The 
fifth and last ocean is the largest of all, and is 
between Asia, Australia, and North aud South 
America. This is the Pacific. 

What is a sphere'? A hemisphere? What do we find 
on the map of the Eastern Hemisphere ? What on the 
Western? Why is the Western Hemisphere called the 
New World ? What are found between the continents ? 

































EASTERN. 



LESSON IV. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

What continents arc in the Eastern Hemisphere ? 

What continents are in the Western Hemisphere ? 

What three continents are near the north pole ? 

What three continents toward the south pole ? 

Which continent is south of North America ? 

Which one south of Europe ? Which one south of Asia ? 


Which continent north of Africa? Which north of 
Australia? East of South America? East of Asia? 
East of Africa ? East of Europe ? East of North America ? f 
What continent west from Asia? West from Europe? ii 
West from North America? West from Australia? In 
what direction is Europe from North America? In what (| 
direction is Asia from North America ? Prom Europe ? I, 
In what direction is Europe from Africa ? In what direc- I 
tion is South America from Africa ? \ 

























WESTERN. 



Which hemisphere lias the more land ? 

What part of North America is the coldest ? Why ? 
What part of South America is coldest? Why? What 
part of Asia is warmest ? What part of Europe is coldest ? 

Which continent has the most uneven edges or shores ? 
Which the most even, regular shores? Which is longest 
from north to south ? Which is widest from east to west ? 

IIow many oceans are there? What are their names? 
Which is the largest ? 


What continents give form to the Pacific Ocean ? The 
Atlantic ? What continents around the Arctic Ocean ? 

What ocean around the south pole ? What ocean south 
of Asia ? Which ocean is farthest north ? What ocean 
between Africa and Australia ? 

What ocean must be crossed to go from America to Africa ? 
What one must be crossed in going from Asia to America ? 
What ocean must be crossed in going from America to 
Europe ? 






























30 


THE CONTINENTS. 


LESSON Y. 

THE CONTINENTS. 

Asia is the largest of the continents. It is 
divided into different countries, and in them live 
many nations who are pagans ; that is, they 
worship the sun, moon, and gods of their own, 
made of wood or stone. There are no Chris¬ 
tians, except a few here and there, who have 
been taught by preachers, called missionaries , 
sent from Christian lands. 

But what seems rather strange is, that in the 
very continent where we find the most pagans 
is the country where Christ was born, and where 
most of the things happened that are mentioned 
in the Bible. 

Very many years ago, in the western parts 
of Asia, there were large, rich cities, where 
were many splendid houses, and a great trading 
and travelling people. Perhaps you have heard 
of one of these cities, called Babylon ; for it is 
often spoken of in the Bible. It was in this 
region that the wonderful stories of “ The Ara¬ 
bian Nights” about genii, enchanted palaces, 
golden fruit, and talking birds, were first told ; 
for even grown people there like to listen to 
such stories. 

Africa. — As soon as Africa is named, you 
all, of course, think of the negroes ; for this is 
the only continent on which they were found, 
until they Avere carried to other countries. 
There are hundreds of tribes of them in Africa, 
each tribe with its own king. They are mostly 
ignorant, wear few clothes, and build no fine 
houses. 

This, I dare say, you knew before ; but what 


Lesson Y. — Which is the largest continent ? What is 
said of it ? What continent south-west of Asia ? What 
is said of it ? 


you do not know, perhaps, is, that the northern 
part of Africa has always belonged to a very 
different sort of people. So far from being igno¬ 
rant, much of the learning, in old times, came 
from them ; and to this day are found in that 
country some of the most wonderful buildings 
that man ever made. These people have dark, 
brownish skins, straight, long hair, and small, 
pretty features. They are not so great and 
powerful now as they were. once. 

In Africa, as well as Asia, are many fierce, 
wild beasts that we do not have here, — lions, 
tigers, elephants, leopards, and many others. 

Europe. — Europe is the smallest of all the 
continents ; but it is perhaps the most interesting : 
at least, we know much more about it. Almost 
all the people are Christians, and some of the 
greatest nations have lived there. It is now 
divided into many countries, of which you will 
learn something by and by. 

Long, long ago, a powerful people lived in the 
south of Europe, and became masters of all the 
countries around 'them. They were called 
Romans, and their great city is still visited by 
persons who wish to see the ruins of their beau¬ 
tiful buildings. But they have passed quite 
away ; and even their language, the Latin, is no 
longer spoken, though still taught in our schools. 

America. — As the main parts of the conti¬ 
nents of North America and South America 
are quite far away from the others, separated 
from them by great oceans, it was many hun¬ 
dred years before the people in the other half 
of the world dreamed that there were such ex¬ 
tensive lands opposite them. It was "only after 
they began to think the earth was round that 


Which is the smallest continent ? What do we know 
of Europe? What two continents on the other side of 
the world ? 




























ABOUT THE OCEANS. 


ATLANTIC OCEAN. 




31 


they sailed across the ocean far enough to find 
America. 

A dark-colored, wild people were found there ; 
but now the greater part of the continent is tilled 
with white people from the Old World. Those 
who first came were from different parts of 
Europe, and soon made new homes and towns 
among the wild woods of America. 

Australia. — This is rather a newly settled 
continent. There are not many cities yet, but 
fine, thick forests, where men who like to hunt 
wild animals can find enough sport for a life¬ 
time. Of late years, a great quantity of gold 
has been found in Australia ; and people have 
crowded there from all parts of the world, to 
grow rich either by digging gold, or raising sheep 
and cattle. 


LESSON VI. 

ABOUT THE OCEANS.-ATLANTIC. 

Of all the oceans, the Atlantic is the most 
travelled over, and the best known. Around 
its sides are many gulfs and bays, making good 
harbors. The people who live near it are those 
who trade the most; so that hundreds of ves¬ 
sels are always sailing over its waters. In this 
ocean are many large islands, and from some 
of them the vessels bring sugar, molasses, and 
salt. In the northern part of the Atlantic are 
many vessels looking for whales, and others 
going home, already filled with barrels of oil. 

A little south of the whaling ships we shall 
find, rushing straight across, backward and 
forward between America and Europe, im- 

What people were found there when the first settlers 
came from the Old World ? What is said of Australia 1 
Lesson VI. — Which of the oceans is best known 7 
What vessels sail in the North Atlantic? What ones 
between America and Europe? Between North and 


mense steamers, making all the haste they can, 
with news and passengers. And there will be 
many vessels beside, carrying cotton, flour, 
grain, and provisions from America, and bring¬ 
ing back from Europe calicoes, muslins, silks, 
and other goods. 

Sailing up from the coasts of South America 
are vessels loaded with coffee, sugar, dye-stuffs, 
and hides, or going back with flour, cloth, &c 
Very often on the Atlantic there are rough 
winds and violent storms, destroying many ves¬ 
sels ; but, in some parts, no wind blows for days, 
and vessels can scarcely move. 

The gulfs, seas, and bays made by the Atlan¬ 
tic are Baffin’s Bay, Hudson’s Bay, Gulf of St. 
Lawrence, Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico, 
Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Guinea, Mediterranean 
Sea, Bay of Biscay, North Sea, and Baltic 
Sea. 


LESSON VII. 

PACIFIC OCEAN. 

The Pacific Ocean is larger than any other, 
and is in the form of a great round basin. It 
is far less rough and stormy than the Atlantic, 
and therefore was called Pacific , which means 
peaceful. But this larger ocean is not so much 
travelled as the Atlantic; for the people who 
live along its shores have a habit of staying at 
home, and do not go about, trading and explor¬ 
ing, as those nations do who live on the shores 
of the Atlantic. 

Numbers of vessels are sent out on the Pa¬ 
cific to take whales that are of a different kind 

South America ? What of the winds ? What gulfs and 
bays are made by the Atlantic ? 

Lesson VII. — Which is the largest ocean ? Why is 
it called the Pacific ? Why is it travelled less than the At¬ 
lantic ? 






























32 


PACIFIC OCEAN. 


INDIAN OCEAN. 


from those of the Atlantic. They are smaller, 
and have no whalebone, and not so much oil; 
but from the head is taken spermaceti, used 
for making beautiful, hard, white candles; 
and something called ambergris, used as a per¬ 
fume, is obtained from them. 

Scattered about in the Pacific — particularly 
toward the south — are hundreds of islands, 
large and small. Many of these islands are 
made by the coral animals, and are often very 
beautiful. But the people who live on them are 
mostly savages, with brown skins and hardly 
any clothes. They are ignorant and lazy, and 
like to swim in the clear, bright sea, or lie on 
their mats in the pleasant air of the long sum¬ 
mer days. 

Seaweeds grow larger in this ocean than any¬ 
where else. Some of the leaves are very long, 
even several hundred feet. 

Of late years, since gold has been found on 
the west coast of North America, and so many 
people go to California, numbers of large steam¬ 
ships sail up and down the coast. Some vessels 
sail quite round South America, from the Atlan¬ 
tic into the Pacific; but the steamers go from 
the isthmus to California, and back again. 

The gulfs and seas made by the Pacific are 
Sea of Kamtschatka, Sea of Ochotsk, Sea of 
Japan, Yellow Sea, China Sea, and, on the 
opposite side, the Gulf of California. 

INDIAN OCEAN. 

The Indian Ocean is much smaller than the 
other two, and is wholly in a warm climate. 
In it are many islands, some of which are very 
large. It is from these islands that many ves¬ 
sels are loaded with spices, gums, and such 

What is said of the whales taken in it? What is 
said of its islands ? Why do many vessels go to Cali¬ 
fornia? How do they get there? What gulfs and seas | 


things. From its waters are taken great num¬ 
bers of pearls, used for ladies’ ornaments, which 
often cost large sums of money. Pearls are found 
inside the shells of a kind of oyster ; and, as these 
oyster-shells lie far down among the rocks and 
sand at the bottom of the sea, men dive under 
water to get them. This is very unpleasant 
work ; and one would never think such pretty 
little things could cause so much hard labor and 
pain. 

Diving is so dangerous and difficult, that only 
the poorest of the people living on those islands 
can be hired for pearl-divers. Parties of per¬ 
haps a dozen men go out in boats a little way 
from the shore, and then half of them dive to the 
bottom, where, for a few moments, they scrape 
as many shells as they can into bags which 
are hung round their necks, and come up again 
when they must breathe the air. Water and 
often blood gush from their ears and eyes. 
While these men rest, the others dive. This is 
very fatiguing and painful work, and divers sel¬ 
dom live to be old men. It is no wonder ladies 
must pay so much for their pearls. Sometimes 
men go down in diving-bells, which are filled 
with air, so that they can stay a much longer 
time. 

The seas, gulfs, and bays made by the Indian 
Ocean are the Bay of Bengal, the Sea of Arabia, 
the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea. 


LESSON VIII. 

MORE ABOUT THE OCEANS. 

With the Antarctic Ocean we seem to have 
very little to do, and no one cares much for it. 

are made by the Pacific? What is said of the Indian 
Ocean ? How are pearls found ? What bays and gulfs 
arc made by the Indian Ocean ? 





























MORE ABOUT THE OCEANS. 



Whales are caught there; 
and from time to time some 
men have taken a notion to 
sail on its waters, and see 
what they could find. Only 
a little land has been seen ; 
and all is cold, dreary, and 
out of the way of the rest of 
the world. 

It is quite different with 
the Arctic Ocean. Though 
its waters are mostly frozen, 
and it is forever bitter cold 
winter, men have managed 
to find out a good deal about 
it; awd are still trying to 
learn more, even with great 
suffering, as you may one 
day read in the books writ¬ 
ten by those who have been 
there. 

There is much land around 
the North Pole, as the Arctic Ocean is enclosed 
by the largest parts of three continents. Most of 
the land farthest north is too dreadfully cold 
for any people to live there ; but many persons 
have thought that a way might be found to sail 
through the Arctic Ocean, and so make a short¬ 
er voyage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
bringing many countries near together that now 
seem very far apart. For this reason, and 
some others, people have, every little while, sent 
out vessels, well prepared with food, coal, and 
wood ; and bold, hardy men, determined to bear 
the cold as long as possible. 

Some of these vessels, with their men, have 
never been heard from ; of others a few traces 
have been found, perhaps after several years, 

Lesson VIII. — What is said of the Antarctic Ocean ? 
What of the Arctic ? Why is the land about this ocean 


showing that they had been frozen up in the ice, 
and had perished. 

A few have returned, after great suffering, to 
tell what they have found. In those dreary 
seas, scarcely any thing is seen but ice. Some¬ 
times the water is frozen hard into a great sheet 
for many miles ; and, even when it is open and 
deep, there are huge lumps of ice floating slowly 
about: in fact, they are called icebergs , which 
means ice mountains. 

It is very dangerous sailing among these ice¬ 
bergs ; for they may drive against vessels, or 
great pieces may break off, and, falling into the 
water, make such a swell that ships are sucked 
down. It often happens that a vessel is frozen 
fast in a bed of ice, and cannot move for months, 

not very useful ? Why have people cared to go there ? 
What are icebergs ? Why are they dangerous ? 
































34 


ABOUT THE ISLANDS. 


or even a year ; and the men not only are frozen 
so badly as to lose fingers or toes, but suffer hor¬ 
ribly for the want of fresh food. 


LESSON IX. 

MAr QUESTIONS ON THE ISLANDS. 

(See Map No. 1.) 

Where is the group of large islands called the East 
Indies ? 

What group of large islands off the east coast of Asia? 
Where is the group of large islands called the West 
Indies ? 

What group of large islands off the west coast of Eu¬ 
rope ? 

What large island north-east of North America? 

What large island off the south-east coast of Africa? 
Where are the Canary Islands ? Where are the Ma- 
deiras ? 

Where are the Bahamas ? Where are the Bermudas ? 
The Sandwich Islands ? 

Where is St. Helena ? Where is Ceylon ? Sicily ? 
Terra del Fuego ? 

Where is Iceland ? 


LESSON X. 

ABOUT THE ISLANDS. 

East Indies. — These large 
islands are mostly rich and beau¬ 
tiful, and for a great while people 
have been trading there from all 
parts of the world. The climate 
is hot, so that the forests never 
lose their leaves ; and the islands 
are covered with a great variety of 
plants and sweet-smelling shrubs. 
All kinds of spices grow there,— 
pepper, cloves, nutmegs, cinna- 

Lesson X. — Where are the East Indies? What is 
their climate? What shrubs grow there? Tell what is 


I mon, — beside those costly woods used for mak¬ 
ing work-boxes and other small articles. Eb¬ 
ony is one of these, — a very hard, black 
wood, which can be polished so as to shine 
as if it were varnished. Another kind is the 
fragrant sandal-wood, of which fans are often 
made. Cloves are the flower-buds of shrubs 
which grow there. The cinnamon we use in 
cooking is the inside bark of the cinnamon- 
tree, and is brought to us in bits of the curled 
bark, or finely powdered. A strong-smelling 
oil is sometimes made from cinnamon, and 
oil is also made from cloves and nutmegs. 
From certain trees in these islands a great 
quantity of a clear white gum is taken, which 
we call camphor. Other gums, used for„medi- 
cine, are found here ; and the sago and tapi¬ 
oca, so good for puddings, are made from the 
roots and pith of certain trees. In the East 
Indies are a great many dye-woods, used for 
making beautiful colors. As all these things 
are sold for much money, men are well paid for 
sending vessels to these islands to obtain them, 
even if they have to go all around the south of 
Africa. 

West Indies. — These are large islands 
south-east of North America. If you will 
look carefully, you will see that these also lie 
near the equator, where we kuow it must be 
very warm : indeed, it is always summer ; and 
the people wear thin, cool clothes. Sailing 
south on the Atlantic, and coming from the 
cool, northern countries, we shall soon see 
these islands rising, all green and beautiful, out 
of the water. There will be groves of tall, 
straight - stemmed cocoanut-trees, with their 
long leaves spreading out at the tops ; and clus¬ 
ters of orange-trees, with their golden fruit 

said of them. Where are the West Indies ? What trees 
and plants grow there ? 





























M O R E ABOU T T II E ISLAND S 




hanging thick among the green leaves, and 
their beautiful white flowers, whose sweet 
| smell comes through the air with every breeze. 
There are bananas and pine-apples, and many 
other rich, sweet fruits. But what we shall 
most notice will be great fields of somethin 0- , 
which, at a distance, we might take for corn, 
but which is sugar-cane, stretching far and 
green over all the small hills. Scattered about 
here and there, in the midst of clusters of fruit- 
trees, stand the houses of those who own the 
sugar-cane; and near each dwelling is a 
sugar-house, where, after the canes are cut, the 
juice is crushed out, and boiled into sugar, 
j Then the sugar is spread out in large troughs ; 

! and, when the molasses has dripped out, it is 
| packed in hogsheads, which are sent in great 

How is sugar made ? What other things are brought 
: from there? How is salt made? If a vessel should sail 
for Europe from one of these islands, how would it go? 


wagons to the largest towns of the island. 
There vessels are waiting in the harbor to 
bring away all this sugar, to be sold in colder 
places, where the cane cannot grow. 

Coffee and tobacco also grow here ; and the 
best cigars which you see gentlemen smoke 
probably came from one of the West-India 
Islands. A great deal of salt is brought from 
some of the islands. Deep troughs are made in 
the ground, and filled with the salt sea-water. 
The hot sun soon draws up the water into the 
air, leaving at the bottom thick cakes of salt. 


LESSON XI. 

MORE ABOUT THE ISLANDS. 

British Isles. —You have all heard of Eng- 

© 

land and the English people. Indeed, you hear 

If it should sail for North America, which way must 
it go ? What would it carry ? 

































































MORE ABOUT THE ISLANDS. 


36 


, of them more frequently than of any other 
I country or people : and it would be strange if it 
were not so ; for the Americans speak their lan¬ 
guage, and the great-great-grandfathers of many 
of us were Englishmen, who came over and set¬ 
tled in America long ago. 

But it is not only we who hear and speak of 
England ; for the English are known far and 
wide over the earth. Their vessels sail on 
every ocean, sea, or gulf; and there is no end 
of the bits of land, here and there, that they 
claim as their own ; and some are very lar^e 
bits too, — larger than their own England. 
They have sent out many armies, fought many 
battles, built many cities, during hundreds of 
years, and are more powerful than most of the 
nations of the earth. You will think, therefore, 
to find England a very big piece of the earth’s 
surface: but you will find off the west of Eu-1 
rope, in the Atlantic Ocean, a couple of islands, 
and these are the British Isles ; that is, England, 
Scotland, and Ireland. 

Though they make such a small country, they 
hold a multitude of people. In fact, they are 
rather crowded ; and many ship-loads of men, 
women, and children, sail off to try their for¬ 
tunes in some new place, like America or Aus¬ 
tralia, w r here there is spare land. As there are 
so many people with so little land, they employ 
themselves in all kinds of manufactures ; that 
is, in making all manner of things to wear or 
to use. There are cloth-factories, where they 
make calico, cotton-cloth, and woollens ; china- 
factories, iron-factories, paper-factories, &c. It 
is very interesting to learn how some of the 
commonest things are made ; but you must read 
about them in other books. Multitudes of peo- 

Lesson XL —What other people speak the same 
language that we do 7 Why 7 What is said of the Eng¬ 
lish 7 Is England a large country 7 How are the | 


I pie are also employed in mining and in com¬ 
merce. 

You must not think that all the people in 
England are busy workmen ; for, beside the mil- 
i lions of laborers, there are many rich men, who 
j own the factories and mines ; and doctors, mer¬ 
chants, lawyers, &c., just we have here. There 
! is a class of people in England, called the no¬ 
bility , quite different from any in our country. 
They have what are called titles , or something 
j more than Mr. and Mrs. before their names. 
Instead of Mr. Howard, a nobleman would be 
called Lord Howard ; and if you lived there, and 
j belonged to the nobility, you would be called 
Lady Emma, or Lord John. These lords gen¬ 
erally live in large, fine houses, with parks, hot¬ 
houses, and every thing beautiful and costly. 
The lands and titles are kept in the family, some¬ 
times for several hundred years, by giving 
them to the eldest son, instead of dividing the 
property among all the children, as would be 
done here. 

Japan Islands. — These islands are off the 
eastern coast of Asia; and, though they are so 
large, we have not very much to say about them 
just now. There are several of these islands ; 
and they make quite a large country. Japan is 
still more crowded than England ; and the peo¬ 
ple have no fancy for going about, and getting 
more land, as the English have done. The 
Japanese have never allowed many strangers to 
go there ; but the few persons who have been 
there saw enough of the country to be sure that 
they should find valuable things for trade ; and 
of late years the English and Americans have 
insisted upon sending vessels to Japan, in spite 
of all objections. 

people in England employed 7 What is meant by the 
nobility 7 Where are the Japan Islands 7 What do we 
know of them 7 




























MORE ABOUT THE ISLANDS. 


37 


LESSON XII. 

MORE ABOUT THE ISLANDS. 

Azores. — If we should sail from the middle 
part of the coast of North America, eastward 
over the Atlantic, for a number of days, we 
should at last see, far off, something like bluish, 
shadowy clouds : but the sailors would say that 
it was land ; and, after a few hours' sailing, the 
misty clouds would change into a group of beau¬ 
tiful islands, called the Azores. 

High cliffs rise from the midst of the foaming 
waves, all cut and gashed in deep cracks, through 
which many noisy torrents and sparkling cas¬ 
cades come rushing and leaping down into the 
sea. Here and there on the sides of the hills, 
farther inland, are thick groves, and fields of 
bright green, spotted with white houses and little 
villages. And over all is the clearest, brightest 
sky ; and the soft air is made sweet by the fra¬ 
grance of orange-blossoms. The weather is 
delightful; and people from both continents go 
there for health. The islands are quite small, j 

Madeiras and Canaries. — Leaving the 
Azores, and sailing some miles farther east, we 
should find another group of islands, called the 
Madeira Islands, where they make the Madeira 
wine that is so much used. 

Very near these are the Canary Islands ; and 
I am sure you all know the little birds that were 
first brought from these islands, and cannot live 
in our cold climate, except in cages. The bright, 
soft yellow, called canary color, is the natural j 
color of the birds ; but they are often partly 
brown from mixing with the linnet, a little dark 
bird of the same size, that sings beautifully. 





bar south of the Canaries, just west of Afri¬ 
ca, is a small, rocky island, quite alone and 
dreary, which is neither useful nor beautiful; but 
every one remembers it, because it was there 
that the great emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was 
kept a prisoner. Probably some of you know 
already what a powerful man he was, and Avhat 
great armies he had, who would march wherev¬ 


er he directed them. But his enemies took him 
prisoner at last; and, because they thought no 
other prison safe enough for him, he was sent to 
St. Helena, that lone, rocky island in the sea. 

In the Indian Ocean, just south of Asia, there 
is quite a large island, called Ceylon ; and, like 
, the other islands in this ocean, it has a hot cli¬ 
mate, with no winter, and many spices and fra¬ 
grant woods and gums. But, above all, Ceylon 
is famous for its beautiful pearls, which are finer 
than any others. 

Beside these islands, there are thousands of 
smaller ones scattered over the Atlantic, and 
1 even more over the Pacific ; but you will not 
learn of them just now. 

In the midst of the Pacific is a group called 
the Sandwich Islands, which are now well known 
in most parts of the world. Missionaries went 
there years ago to teach the natives, who have 
now become quite civilized. They have schools 
and churches, and keep up a large trade, es¬ 
pecially with California. We often see in our 
newspapers the names of vessels sailing from 
Honolulu, which is the largest town of these is¬ 


lands. 


There is, however, one large island we must 
not forget. It is off the north-east coast of North 
America, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and 
is called Newfoundland. It is cold most of the 


Lesson XII. — Where are the Azores'? What is 

said of them ? What islands not far from them ? What What of St. Helena? Of Ceylon ? Of the Sandwich 
come from the Canary Islands ? From the Madeiras ? Islands ? Of Newfoundland ? 


































38 


MAT QUESTIONS. ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 


year. A large part of the island is bare and 
dreary ; and there are heavy, damp fogs almost 
all the time. From all this, yon might think 
Newfoundland of little use ; but it is worth a 
great deal, and men have even fought for a right 
to its shores, because thousands of barrels of fish 
are caught every year in the waters near the 
island. The shore is lined with fishermen’s huts, 
and platforms for drying the fish after they are 
salted. The cod is the fish chiefly taken ; and 
it is sent in large quantities to other parts of 
the world. 

Half-way between Europe and America, in the 
North Atlantic, is a large island called Iceland ; 
and, from its name, you might think it the cold¬ 
est place in the world: but this is not so. 
Though it is so far north, it is, from certain 
causes, much milder than other places that are 
farther south. There are some high mountains, 
and also a volcano, on the island ; and wonder¬ 
ful springs of boiling water, called geysers , that 
are great curiosities. 

The Bahamas and Bermudas are two groups 
of small islands in the Atlantic, north of the 
West Indies. 


LESSON XIII. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

(See Map No. 1.) 

In what ocean, and near what continent, are the West 
Indies ? The East Indies ? 

In what ocean, and near what continent, are the Japan 
Islands ? 

In what ocean, and near what continent, are the Bermu¬ 
das ? The Bahamas ? 

In what ocean, and near what continent, arc the Cana¬ 
ries ? 

What of Iceland? What islands north of the West 
Indies ? 

Lesson XIV. —What is a chain of mountains? 


Which are the largest single islands in the world ? 

What sea do the Japan Islands shut in? The West 
Indies ? 

In what direction is Newfoundland from Iceland ? 

In what direction are the Madciras from the West In¬ 
dies ? 

In what direction is Ceylon from the Japan Islands ? 

In what direction is Australia from the East Indies ? 

Tell what you have learned from Map No. 1. 

Draw maps of the two hemispheres, without 
printing any names, and study them until you 
can point out the different continents, oceans, 
and islands of which you have learned some¬ 
thing. 


LESSON XIV. 

ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 

(See Map No. 2.) 

When I speak of a chain of mountains, you 
must remember that they do not run in one 
long, unbroken row, but a chain is made up of 
many ridges of different length and height, often 
crossing one another, and making valleys be¬ 
tween the peaks. 

There is just such a long, wide-spreading 
chain of mountains running through the west¬ 
ern part of North America, called the Rocky 
Mountains. Many parts of these ridges are 
rough and dreary ; and, while the rest of the 
country has become thickly settled, this is still 
the wild part of the continent. Tribes of Indi¬ 
ans, or what is left of them, are scattered over 
the lower parts of the mountain sides and the 
plains at their foot. Parties of bold, hardy 
men, who make a business of hunting, often 
wander through the thick forests and bare plains 


What chain through the western part of North Amer¬ 
ica? What is said of it? 




























MOUNTAIN VIEW. 


to shoot doer, bears, and buffaloes or bisons. 
They have no houses, only huts or sheds here 
and tlier e, and camp when they find a good place. 

There is another range much nearer the Pa¬ 
cific coast, called the Sierra Nevada. Not a 
great many years ago, it was found out that 
there was much gold in these mountains ; and 
a g^at many people rushed here from all parts 
of the country to dig gold, and get rich all 
at once. Not only from America, but from 
other countries, even from the coast of Asia, 
where people are so fond of staying at home, 
men crowded to the gold mines ; and so many 
went, that, in a very short time, a large city was 
built up as if by fairy work. Other smaller 
towns were settled where the gold was plenty ; 
and so there is now quite a rich State off there 

What range nearer the Pacific'? Where is the gold 
region ? What is said of it ? 


beyond the Rocky Mountains. Parties of miners 
arc constantly digging; and some wonderfully 
big lumps of gold are found by the lucky men. 

More recently, gold has been found abundantly 
in the Rocky Mountains ; and new States are 
rapidly growing up there. You may have heard 
of Pike’s Peak, which is the centre of this gold 
region. 

The southern part of the Rocky Mountains 
extends through that narrow part of North 
America, which, as you may see on your map, 
reaches toward the equator, where the climate is 
warm. Here, among the highest peaks, are 
many volcanoes ; some often smoking and flam¬ 
ing. Several ridges spread out, making a high, 
level table laud in the midst of the mountains, 
where there is a large city called Mexico ; and 
villages are scattered in the smaller valleys. 

What of the mountains of Mexico ? 














































WESTERN. 



LESSON XV. 

MAP QUESTIONS ON MOUNTAINS. 

Where are the Rocky Mountains ? 
Where are the Andes ? 

Where are the Himalayas ? 

Where arc the Alps ? 

Where are the Altai Mountains ? 


Where are the Alleghanies ? 

The Brazilian Mountains? 

Where are the Ural Mountains ? 

Which large mountain chains of the world run east and 
west ? 

Which north and south ? 

What mountains in the western part of South America? 
Of North America ? 





















EASTEKN. 



What mountains between Europe and Asia ? 

What mountains in the south of Europe? 

Which is the most northern chain in Asia ? 
iThc most southern ? 

What mountains in the western part of Africa? 

In the eastern ? 

In the northern ? 

What mountains in the eastern part of Nortli America? 


Of South America? 

Where is Mont Blanc ? 

Where is Mount Vesuvius? 

What mountain chains in North America 
In South America ? 

In Europe? 

In Asia? 

In Africa ? 




















42 


MOKE ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 



LESSON XVI. 

MORE ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 

Andes. — The Rocky Mountains, instead of 
ending with North America, seem to extend 
quite through the neck of land that joins it to 
South America, and run along the whole west¬ 
ern coast of this continent also ; but, in South 
America, these mountains are called the Andes. 

In many parts, the Andes are very high ; but 
they do not spread out so wide as the Rocky 
Mountains. However, toward the middle part, 
several ridges open wide enough to make a high 
valley, with cities in it. 

Generally the mountain sides are steep, and 
the valleys deep and narrow : so that often, 


instead of valleys, they are only 
ravines ; that is, deep cuts. Trav¬ 
elling across such mountains is not 
© 

easy ; and yet there are more cities 
built on their sides than among the 
Rocky Mountains. There are few 
roads fit for any kind of cart or 
carriage ; and people ride on mules, 
or donkeys which are still more 
sure-footed. -These donkeys often 
carry very heavy loads, andjwill 
walk over the most dangerous 
paths without stumbling. In some 
wild places, travellers ride in a 
sort of chair strapped on the back 
of an Indian, who is used to such 
labor, and will carry a person in 
this way for miles. Sometimes, 
where a deep ravine is in the way, 
a queer sort of bridge is used ; 
that is, two strong ropes arc 
stretched across, and fastened tightly on each 
side. A basket is swung on the ropes ; and a 
man sitting in this basket, with a rope under 
each arm, works himself along over a cut so 
deep, that a fall would dash him to pieces. 
Often, to make it more frightful, there is a tor¬ 
rent of foaming, boiling water in the ravine. 

The sides of the mountains are covered with 
thick woods of huge trees, with shrubs of the 
richest green crowded between, inwoven with 


twining vines. 


Perhaps, as the mountain road winds continu¬ 
ally, the traveller may get a sight of the ocean 
every little while, far, far down ; for the Andes 
rise in many places directly from the Pacific 
Ocean, or from the Caribbean Sea. 


Lesson XVI. —Where are the Andes 7 
of them 7 


What is said 


How do people cross these mountains 7 Tell all you 
can about it. 














































MORE ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 


43 


Another very beautiful sight is the sunlight 
upon the far-off, higher tops, that perhaps are 
covered with snow, coloring them brilliantly. 
And, beside the light above, one may now and 
then look down, and see a cloud below one’s feet, 
causing rain in the valley while it is all dry 
above. Sometimes, on a sudden turn, a large 
city is seen spread out beneath, with the streets, 
the church-spires, the squares, the fountains, the 
red house-tops, glittering in the sun ; and, scat¬ 
tered through the valley, clusters of trees, and 
clear, sparkling streams winding among them. 

If one were to go much higher, there would 



above these, the everlasting snows; for you 
must remember how cold it always is on high 
mountains, even in hot countries. 


The Andes are rich, in many parts, with gold 
and silver, particularly the latter; and, for this 
reason, there are towns built far up in bare, 
rocky places which are good for mining. The 
silver is dug out of the ground, mixed with earth 
and stones. This is called silver ore; and, when 
it is heated, the silver melts, and runs off pure. 

There are some high volcanoes in this chain ; 
and their explosions are often accompanied by a 
violent shaking of the earth for miles around. 
These shakings are called earthquakes , and often 
do great harm, throwing down houses, and 
crushing hundreds of people to death. 


LESSON XVII. 

MORE ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 

Alleghanies. — You must have noticed that 
the eastern coast of North America, from 

What should we find at the tops of the highest ? What 
mines in these mountains 1 What are earthquakes 'i 
Lesson X YII. — Where are the Alleghanies ? What 


the Gulf of Mexico to Hudson’s Bay, is not 
nearly so long as the western or Pacific coast. 
Running along this shore is a chain of moun¬ 
tains called the Alleghanies, much shorter than 
the Rocky Mountains, and also much lower. 

Like other chains, it is made up of many 
ridges, having different names. One ridge is 
called the White Mountains, another the Green, 
another the Catskill, another the Blue Ridge, 
another the Cumberland, <%c. 

These mountains do not run close to the wa¬ 
ter, but leave a long strip of land between them 
and the Atlantic Ocean. This land is hilly near 
the mountains, and slopes down to a low plain 
near the sea; making a good place for rivers 
rising in the Alleghanies to flow into the ocean,’ 
turning mills as they go. 

Brazilian Mountains. — The mountains of 
South America seem to correspond exactly with 
those of North America ; for just as the Andes 
match the Rocky Mountains (both being high, 
long chains), so the short, low ridges in the east¬ 
ern part, called the Brazilian Mountains, cor¬ 
respond to the Alleghanies. It is enough for 
you, at present, to remember their names, and 
that many diamonds are washed from the 
streams flowing from them. 

Mountains op Africa. — There is little to 
say just now about the mountains of Africa, as 
we know less of them than of the others. The 
whole middle part of Africa, as far as it has 
been explored, is high land, sloping down on all 
sides toward the water. The Kong Mountains 
are near the Gulf of Guinea, and the Mountains 
of the Moon run along the eastern coast. Near 
the northern coast is another chain, called the 

are the names of different parts ? What lies between the 
mountains and the Atlantic ? What mountains beside the 
Andes in South America ? What is said of them ? What 
can you say of the mountains of Africa ? 

























44 


MORE ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 


Atlas Mountains. Find these on your maps, 
and remember the names ; and it will be about 
all you can do. 

Mountains of Asia. — In the southern part 
of Asia, you will find a chain in which are the 
highest mountains in the world. These are the 
Himalaya Mountains, running east and west, 
like most of the mountains of the Old World. 

The north side of this chain slopes to a great, 
high valley ; and among the mountains are some 
cities, of which we shall have more to say by 
and by. The other side slopes toward the south, 
into lower valleys ; so that the slope is much 
longer. In some places, the sides are very 
steep ; and many rivers rush down, making 
foaming waterfalls and roaring torrents. Deep 
cuts are often worn in the earth, and even in 
rocks, by these streams, making wild, gloomy 
spots ; and in other parts the mountain sides 
are covered with thick shrubs, laced and matted 
together among higher trees. In these hot thick¬ 
ets, which are called jungles , there are lions and 
tigers ; and the people go to hunt these fierce 
beasts. But it is not a very safe nor easy busi¬ 
ness : for, beside the terrible animals them¬ 
selves, there are many poisonous snakes ; and, 
as the sun cannot well get through the thick 
mass of leaves to dry the ground, there is al¬ 
ways a hot, unhealthy air steaming from the 
rank leaves and decaying roots, that is apt to 
give fevers. 

There are three more long mountain chains 
north of the Himalaya, running in the same di¬ 
rection. You may find the names on the map ; 
but they are rather hard to remember. In the 
most northern chain, some diamonds and gold 
are found. 


What of the Himalaya Mountains ? What other moun¬ 
tain chains in Asia? 


LESSON XVIII. 

MOUNTAINS.-CONTINUED. 

The Alps. —As Europe is a small continent, 
and very much cut into by gulfs and bays, there 
is no room for such long chains as the Rocky 
Mountains or Andes. But there is no want of 
mountains ; and the greater part of the south 
and middle is rough, hilly country. 

Out of the many ridges and knots of moun¬ 
tains running in every direction, something like 
a regular chain, in the shape of a half-ring^ 
may be marked out in the south of Europe, near 
the Mediterranean Sea. These are the Alps, 
and you will probably read and hear more of 
these mountains than of any others ; for in the 
midst of the Alps, and around them, are several 
countries about which many interesting things 
are to be learned, beside what is strange and 
beautiful in the mountains themselves. 

Here are the finest, richest pine woods, the 
grandest glaciers, the prettiest little villages, 
and, in the midst of the high valleys, the loveli¬ 
est lakes, in the world. 

Mountain travelling is generally hard work ; 
but roads were made across the Alps hundreds 
of years ago, and now there is constant passing 
over the easiest paths. Many persons are will¬ 
ing to do much hard climbing only to see this 
beautiful mountain country. Young men from 
all parts of Europe like to spend a summer 
shooting deer, or chamois, on the Lower Alps ; 
and men have been known to pass weeks at a 
time in the icy regions, on the high tops, that 
they might watch the motion of the glaciers. 
There are several peaks more grand and beau- 

Lesson XYIII. — Why are there no very long moun¬ 
tain chains in Europe ? Where are the Alps ? Why do 
we hear so much of the Alps ? What of the mountain 
travelling there ? What is the highest peak ? 





































MORE ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 


45 


tiful than the rest, and more visited : of these, 
the best known is Mont Blanc. 

How People live amidst the Alps. — One of 
the first ridges toward the north is covered 
with the largest, gloomiest of pine woods. The 
giant trees stand straight and close, the dark- 
green branches meet and lap ; so that, in many 
places, the sun forces but little of his light 
through the deep shade: and, in fact, it is 
called the Black Forest. 

This Black Forest, or Schwartzwald, is 
known far and wide through the country. The 
trees grow wonderfully large and strong; and 
the same fresh, mountain air, that agrees so 
well with the trees, seems to make great, broad- 
shouldered, strong-limbed men, with bright eyes 
and bold hearts. 

In the Black Forest, we should find the men 
on one side of the hills wearing long beards, 
coarse, black jackets, enormous breeches tied 
below the knee, long red stockings, and sharp- 
crowned, wide-brimmed hats. Most of them 
work at glass-making, and are comfortably off 
in the world, with snug little houses near their 
glass factories. 

Those who are not glassmen make clocks, 
for which they find the pine wood very conve¬ 
nient ; and the wooden clocks of the Black 
Fores.t are sold in many countries. Beside 
these, I dare say you have seen fly-brushes, 
little brooms, and such things, made of long, 
white, curled shavings, which, if they were not 
actually made in the Black Forest, were the 
work of some poor woman who came all the 
way from the “ dear father land ” to America. 
You must have heard, “ Buy a broom.” 

On the other side of the woods, there are no 
more glass factories, no more red stockings. 

What is said of the Black Forest? What kind of 
people there ? Tell all you can of the way they live) 


I he people have quite a different way of living, 
and make the most of their pines. Many of 
the men are charcoal-burners-; but still more 
make a business of cutting the tallest, straight- 
est trees, and floating them down the little 
streams into the River Neckar: from this they 
float into another river, running far down the 
country to the sea, where the pine logs are used 
to make masts for ships. 

The raftsmen of the Black Forest wear brown 
linen jackets, black leather breeches, with wide, 
green suspenders strapped across the breast. 
But the pride of their hearts is in their boots, 
which truly are as big as it is possible to find 
on the earth: they reach more than a hand’s- 
length above the knees of their long legs ; and 
the men can step in water three feet deep 
without wetting a toe. 

The people of the Schwartzwald are very 
hospitable, and welcome strangers in a friendly 
way. If one is sociable with them, there will 
be very likely some talk of the spirits of the 
pine woods ; of the good little glassman, a foot 
high, who used to show himself—sharp hat, 
red stockings, and all—-to their great-great¬ 
grandfathers, and make them rich in a trice ; 
and also of Dutch Michael, a giant evil spirit, 
in boots three yards long, who tried how much 
mischief he could do. Many and many a story 
the children have about them; but, what is 
strange, neither the little glassman nor Dutch 
Michael ever show themselves now. 

South of the Black Forest are many ridges of 
rather low mountains. Still farther east and 
south the land becomes more uneven, until we 
are altogether in the highlands of the Alps, with 
mountains all around, above, and below. This 
is a wild, beautiful country, covered with rich 

and dress. What kind of country south of the Black 
Forest ? 

































46 


MORE ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 


forests, but not unsettled as among the Rocky 
Mountains ; for every road winding around the 
steep sides passes frequently some one of the 
many little villages or cottages that are scat¬ 
tered everywhere among the Alps. A cheer¬ 
ful village it is like to be, in a valley with a 
stream running through it, and shut in by 
mountains thickly wooded with beech trees, 
maples, and pines. Behind these green moun¬ 
tains, much farther off and higher, are the 
jagged tops of a more bare and rocky ridge; 
and still farther and higher than all rise peaks 
covered with snow. 

Near the stream is the village, the low houses 
all built alike, their roofs covered with planks, 
kept in place by a number of large stones laid 
upon them. These roofs hang far over the 
gable-ends of the houses, and partly cover the 
little open balconies before the door or windows 
of the second floor ; and these balconies are 
always painted some gay color,—yellow, blue, 
or red. In front of every house is a bench, 
where the men sit, and smoke pipes when their 
work is done. Somewhere in the village, there 
is sure to be a sort of public garden, or park, 
where the people sit in fine weather, and drink 
coffee and beer under the shady trees. There 
is a neat little church, and generally, a little 
way out of the village, one or two grand old 
stone buildings, whose queer turrets, or towers, 
covered with moss and ivy, and narrow, arched 
windows, with colored glass, are like nothing 
we see in this country. These belong to the 
great men of the place, and were built years and 
years ago. 

There are many children in the mountain 
village ; and, if we should ask the names of two 


What can you tell of a mountain village among the 
Alps ? 


rosy little girls, they might answer, “ The mil¬ 
ler’s Rosel and the carver’s Crescenz ; ” for that 
is the way they call one another in this village 
of Ammergau. 

And what do you think a carver is ? If you 
have ever noticed the splinters of a bit of pine, 
you know that the wood is soft, and easy to cut, 
beside being smooth and white. Now, people 
living among pine woods have a habit of cut¬ 
ting bits of the soft wood with their knives, and 
often learn to make beautiful things ; that is, 
cups, spoons, boxes, picture-frames, &c., carved 
over with birds, leaves, and flowers. Quite 
young boys can carve dolls and toys very pret¬ 
tily. Those who can carve best make a busi¬ 
ness of it as they grow up ; and their work is 
sold from city to city, until we even have these 
things in America. 

Beside the little girls, we may see some tall, 
good-looking young man, who has just come 
down from the higher Alps, where lie has been 
at work. He has on a loose, gray jacket, bright- 
green waistcoat, and short, tight-fitting breeches, 
tied at the knees. His legs are covered with 
green and red checkered stockings, and his feet 
with heavy, nailed shoes ; and he has a green 
felt hat, with a bunch of black cock-feathers in 
it. If it is Sunday or a holiday, he will have 
a bunch of gay flowers beside the feathers ; and 
his breeches will be tied at the knees with 
bright-colored ribbons. 

Seppel is a woodman, and has been with a 
party of men a couple of days’ walk up the 
mountain. They took with them strong, sharp 
axes, and a bag filled with meal, cheese, butter, 
and salt, a shirt and pipes. They left the ma¬ 
ples and chestnuts far behind them $ and, once 
in the midst of the gloomy pine woods, they 


What of the wood-carvers ? Of the woodmen ? 





























MORE ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 


47 


looked for some mountain torrent, built a rough 
shed, hung up their bags, and then went to 
work. They chose the tallest, straightest trees ; 
their strong arms swung heavily; the blows of 
the axes fell with a clear, ringing sound far 
and wide ; and there was soon a pile of logs, 
that grew bigger and bigger every day, until 
the rains came. Then they were thrown into ithe 
swollen stream, and left to float down to the near¬ 
est town, where they would be stopped by a 

dam, and sold for buildinsr. 

© 

The young woodmen and hunters on the 
mountains often fall in with a party of girls 
who have gone for a summer frolic to keep the 
cattle sent up to pasture. These young girls 
are called sennerins , and have rude little cabins 
to live in during the few weeks they are on the 
high Alp ; and, indeed, they often have a merry 
time of it. And such bright, healthy girls they 
are ! It is a pleasure to see them. They wear 
short, red, or flowered skirts, reaching above 
the ankle ; coarse, blue stockings; bodices of 
black or dark-green stuff, laced up in front 
over a jacket of white, coarse linen, with laro-e, 
full sleeves gathered in below the elbow; and a 
gay-colored handkerchief around the neck; be¬ 
side a jaunty little straw hat, for these vil¬ 
lage girls, or peasants, never wear bonnets. 
We never see such a dress here: but the 
mountain girls wear it as their grandmothers 
did before them, and as their grandchildren 
will after them ; for they have no change of 
fashion. 

Beside the woodmen and the sennerins, there 
are charcoal-burners on the mountains, and 
chamois-hunters; and these people, who are 
mostly friends or acquaintances, have a pleas- 


Tell about the sennerins. What is a joddeil ? What 
shall we find higher up, near the mountain tops ? 


ant way of cheering from one party to another, 
with a clear, ringing shout, or long cry, called 
a joddeil. It can be heard for miles ; and a hun¬ 
dred echoes come from the mountains. 

In this wild but pleasant mountain country, 
we are still far from the highest peaks of the 
Alps.' There are dangerous paths leading to 
the snowy tops ; and among the storms and glac¬ 
iers, and great masses of falling snow, men are 
often frozen to death. 

Far up on one of the highest mountain paths, 
there is a large building called The Monastery 
of St. Bernard. This is a house for priests or 
monks, who never marry, but live a great many 
together, and dress all alike. These monks of 
St. Bernard do a great deal of good in that 
dreary, lonely place. They have had for years 
fine, noble dogs, which are taught to go out with 
the monks in snow-storms to look for any per¬ 
sons who may be perishing with cold. 

Travellers often lose their way when the path 
is covered with snow, and are found buried un¬ 
der the drifts. Sometimes they are quite dead ; 
but often, when carried to the monastery, and 
rubbed before the great fire, they revive. 

After once crossing the higher parts, the 
traveller finds the slopes on the other side of 
the mountains very beautiful In the valleys 
are the loveliest lakes in the world, with little 
boats gliding about on their clear waters; gar¬ 
dens, and groves of fruit trees sloping down to 
the shores ; beautiful country-houses, called vil¬ 
las, on the mountain sides; vineyards and 
villages in the larger valleys; old gray monas¬ 
teries far up on higher peaks ; and here and 
there, glittering high against the blue sky, the 
white, snow-covered tops. 


What is The Monastery of St. Bernard ? What is 
found on the other side of the Alps'? 




























48 VOLCANOES. 


LESSON XIX. 

VOLCANOES. 

Vesuvius. —Volcanoes are scattered here and 
there in the great mountain chains. They are 
most numerous in the Andes and the southern 
part of the Rocky Mountains. In the south of 
Europe are two that have done great harm. 
One of these, called iEtna, is on the island of 
Sicily, and formerly had violent eruptions. The 
most dangerous volcano is Vesuvius, which 
stands on the shore of a lovely bay of the Medi¬ 
terranean Sea. It has done great harm at 
different periods. 

Once upon a time there stood a city at the 
foot of Mount Vesuvius. This city was famous 
for its beautiful baths; and people from the 
country around liked to go there sometimes to 
rest from business, and enjoy themselves. 

At the end of each street, there was a charm¬ 
ing fountain ; and one might sit down by it, and 
have a delightful view of the sea, then as beau¬ 
tiful, as blue, and sunny as it is now. 

On fine days, crowds might be seen loungin<>- 
about in gay dresses of purple ; while slaves 
passed up and down with splendid vases on 
their heads, filled with perfumes and scented 
waters. Some persons sat on marble benches, 
with small tables before them covered with 
wine, fruit, and flowers ; for, in that pleasant 
climate, people like to be out of doors as much 
as possible. 

Almost every house in that city was a palace ; 
and every palace had a garden, where rich fruit 
hung from the trees, and fountains cooled the 
air, and made a pleasant sound; while from 
every shrub peeped out a marble image or a 
vase of flowers. 

Lesson XIX. — Where are volcanoes mostly found'? 
Where is iEtna? Vesuvius'? Tell of the city that 


The walls were painted over with pictures, 
and the pillars hung round with wreaths of 
flowers. The seats were often bronzed and gilt, 
covered with rich, soft cushions : and, when the 
master gave a dinner-party, the guests lay 
down, or leaned among the cushions ; and, while 
they drank and ate, slaves filled their golden cups 
with fine wines, or sang or danced before them. 

One day, when such festivities were going on 
in the city, Vesuvius sent up a great smoke ; 
and, in broad noonday, darkness black as 
night came over all. There was a frightful 
din of cries and groans, prayers and curses. 
The brother lost his sister, the husband his 
wife, the mother her child ; for nothing could be 
seen but the flashes, which, every now and then, 
darted, like lightning, from the mountain. The 
earth trembled ; the houses shook, and began to 
fall; the sea rolled back from the land ; the 
air grew thick with showers of ashes ; and then, 
with a tremendous noise, the boiling, hissing, 
steaming lava gushed out. The people fled ; but 
some were struck down on the way. Those who 
returned a few days after found only a black, j 
smoking plain, sloping to the sea, and covered 
with ashes. Down, down beneath was the lost 
city. The name of this city was Pompeii. 

Nearly seventeen hundred years after this 
happened (that is, not long ago), curious persons i 
began to dig on the spot; and, lo ! they found j 
the buried city, with all its streets and palaces. 
There were skeletons of men, women, and chil¬ 
dren ; and all kinds of jewels, furniture, and 
every thing just as it was so many years ago. 

Another city near by, called Herculaneum, 
was destroyed at the same time, and buried so 
deeply beneath the lava, that only a little of it 
has been uncovered. 

was once near Vesuvius. What happened there ? What 
other city was destroyed ? 


























SOME OF THE RIVERS OF NORTH AMERICA. 


49 


LESSON XX. • 

SOME -OF THE RIVERS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

You have already learned how useful rivers 
are ; and, if you see on a map that a large coun¬ 
try has no rivers, you may be sure it is bare 
and desolate, with little growing there. 

But still, rivers cannot always make a beau¬ 
tiful country; for some flow where it is so cold 
all the year, that the frozen water is of no use, 
either to make things grow, or for boats to sail 
upon. 

In North America, there are three large 
rivers. 

1st, One flows north into the Arctic Ocean, 
called the Mackenzie, which is of little use, as it 
runs through the frozen zone. 

2d, The St. Lawrence flows eastward into 
the Atlantic through a pleasant though quite a 
cold country. It makes a wafer road from 
several large lakes to the ocean ; and there are 
some handsome cities on its banks, also many 
small towns. Vessels and steamers go up and 
down all the time; so that people and goods 
pass conveniently from town to town, and are 
taken in large ships to other countries. 

3d, Of the three rivers, the greatest and 
most useful is the Mississippi, — the most useful 
for three reasons. First, Because it flows right 
through the middle of the continent, just where 
the people are farthest from the sea, and need 
the water most. Secondly, Because it flows 
from north to south for thousands of miles, 
through all sorts of climate and soils, from the 
pine woods at its source to the sugar plantations 
at its mouth; and by means of it the different 
products can be exchanged. How many boats 

Lesson XX. — What rivers are of little use ? What 
three large rivers in North America? Where is the 
Mackenzie ? What is said of the St. Lawrence ? What 


are steaming up and down this great river! 
and how many different things they carry back¬ 
ward and forward!—lead from the mining 
regions of the north; flour, corn, pork, and 
beef from the broad prairies and farming-lands 
of the middle region ; and also mules and horses 
from the fine grazing-lands. Still farther south 
we see whole boat-loads of cotton, and, farthest 
of all, sugar, molasses, and fruit, from the warm 
lands near the mouth of the river, beside the 
goods from abroad that come up in ships 
through the Gulf of Mexico. 

How many things are exchanged by means 
of one river and its branches! There are so 
many large streams running into the Mississippi 
from east and west, that they seem almost like 
giant fingers spreading out over every part of 
the country, and gathering every thing worth 
picking up far and near, and drawing it into 
the great river. And this is the third rea¬ 
son why the Mississippi is so useful. Of its 
branches, the Missouri and Arkansas are the 
longest from the west, and the Ohio from the 
east. 

Beside these large rivers, there are many 
smaller ones, running from the east sides of the 
Alleghany Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. 
These water al\ the strip of land between the 
mountains and the sea ; and many of them have 
good harbors at their mouths, and large cities 
on their banks. Some of the smaller ones 
toward the north have waterfalls, which are 
excellent for turning the wheels of mills and 
factories. I wonder if you have ever seen, 
in stores, calico or gingham marked Merri¬ 
mack ,, from the mills on that river, where it 
is made. 


of the Mississippi ? What large rivers run into the Mis¬ 
sissippi from the west ? What from the east ? Where are 
other smaller rivers ? Why so useful ? 























50 


RIVERS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 


One of the largest of these rivers is the Hud¬ 
son, in New York ; a beautiful river, with towns 
along its banks, and large, handsome country- 
houses on the hill-sides. 

And you can remember the Connecticut and 
the Potomac. 


LESSON XXI. 

RIVERS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 

There are also three large rivers in South 
America, easily remembered, each flowing 
through its own particular kind of country. 
One thing you must understand, that, when we 
say such a river waters a country, we mean not 
only the river itself, but all the little streams 
that form it. 

The most northern of these rivers is the 
Orinoco, which flows through a flat country 
called the llanos , or plains. There are but few 
trees, and no towns, until the land begins to rise 
in hills beyond the plains. This flat land is al¬ 
most like a desert at one time of the year; 
afterward it rains for several months. The 
grass springs up thick and green, making good 
feeding for large herds of cattle ; and the plains¬ 
men, on their swift horses, dash after these 
herds with their lassos , and catch as many as 
they can. These plainsmen are dark and sol¬ 
emn-looking, with long black hair and beards, 
and live almost all the time on horseback. 

You must not forget that this northern part of 
South America is hot, being near the equator ; 
and so just the opposite of the northern part of 
North America. In the llanos, then, there is 
no winter; but the seasons change from wet to 
dry. Half the year it does not rain, and the 

Where is the Hudson ? Connecticut ? Potomac 1 
Merrimack ? 

Lesson XXI. — How many large rivers in South 


oth<# half it rains every day. There are not, 
however, long rainy days such as we have here 
sometimes, — that would be dreadful, — but only 
a good, quick shower each day, always at the 
same time, wetting the ground well, and then 
clearing off as bright as ever. 

Farther south, but still in the torrid zone, is 
the great Amazon, one of the largest rivers in 
the world, reaching quite across the continent 
from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. Instead 
of running from north to south like the Missis¬ 
sippi, it runs directly from west to east, all the 
way through the same kind of country; not 
rolling and rushing, as might be expected of such 
a mass of water, but creeping slowly, lazily, 
along the flat country which stretches far away 
on both sides. 

These plains of the Amazon are not covered 
with grass, but with vast forests. In the hot, 
steaming air, the trees grow so large, that the 
smallest wohld seem monsters to you. These 
giant trees stand thick and close, for no axes 
have cleared there ; and even the small spaces 
are filled with bushes all twined together, with 
vines winding in and out, and climbing up the 
great trunks, making them gay with flowers of 
every color. Many of these are air plants, living 
on the trees, with their roots hanging in the air. 
Far up, the leaves shut out the sun, and make a 
strange, dark shade. Thousands of bright par¬ 
rots shriek in the branches, and troops of 
chattering monkeys pass among the leaves with 
a rush like wind; and every mometit there is 
the smooth, slight rustle of the great blue liz¬ 
ards running up the trees. 

Along the streams, and over the marshes, 
swarms of mosquitoes fill the air, and huge alli¬ 
gators lie lazily in the slimy mud. 

America ? Where is the Orinoco ? What can you say 
of the llanos 1 Where is the Amazon ? 


























RIVERS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 





SOUTH AMERICAN FOREST. 


So thick and rank and wild are the forests 
around the Amazon ! and in the day so still, 
but for the chattering of birds, and crackling of 
rotten boughs! And withal how grand and 
beautiful, with trees and wonderfully colored 
birds and butterflies and flowers ! Here are no 
houses, no towns, and no people, unless some¬ 
times an Indian in his canoe, gliding in the open 
parts of the stream from some far-off village of 
huts. But the night, how terrible ! No moon¬ 
light gets through the thick branches : it is dark, 
— utterly dark, except for the great fireflies 
that dart sparkling about. The parrots are 
asleep, and the monkeys still; but there are hor¬ 
rible glidings and hissings of serpents trailing 
around ; and every little while through the live¬ 
long night come mighty roars of wild beasts 

What about the forests of the Amazon ? What are 
they called ? Why is it difficult to settle there ? 


howling fiercely in the dark,—roars so loud 
and long, that the whole earth seems to shake 
with the sound. 

These Amazon woods are called selvas; and 
people from Europe and America have gone 
sometimes to see if settlements could be made ; 
for there are many dye-woods, gums, and other 
valuable things, there, beside the rich ground, 
which could be cultivated if some of the trees 
were cut down. But that is no easy task. 
The climate is very unhealthy, and the horrible 
snakes and insects are very troublesome; so 
that while steamboats are puffing, mill-wheels 
whirling, and bridges building, on other rivers, 
the beasts have it all to themselves around the 
Amazon. 

The only other very large river in South 
America is the La Plata, which is farther south 
Where is the La Plata 1 



















SOME OF THE RIVERS OF EUROPE. 


than the Amazon, in the south temperate zone, 
where the weather is something like our own, 
though still not so cold in the winter. West of 
the La Plata are plains called pampas, that 
reach to the mountains. They are covered 
with clover and thistles. Early in the season, it 
is beautiful to see the herds of find cattle feeding 
on the fresh clover and grass; but, later, the 
whole plain is a forest of thistles, — high enough 
to hide a man. 

On the other side of the river, the country is 
hilly and pleasant, and there are several large 
cities. 


LESSON XXII. 

SOME OF THE RIVERS OF EUROPE. 

For the same reason that the mountains in 
Europe are in short ridges, the rivers are short, 
and flow in different directions. But there is 
one long river in the east, called the Volga ; and 
another is the Danube, that you will find begin¬ 
ning among the Alps, and running east into the 
Black Sea. 

The Rhine, in the west of Europe, is one of 
the most beautiful rivers in the world ; and the 
people who live near it love it dearly. It runs 
through a mountain country, beautiful and 
thickly settled. All along the banks are pretty 
villages; and every little while a great city 
spreads out in a wider valley, with many queer¬ 
looking old church steeples rising between the 
hill tops. Between and around the villages, the 
hill sides and slopes near the river are covered 
with vineyards fresh and green. These vine¬ 
yards are fields of grape vines, planted in rows, 
and carefully twined on poles. 

What are the pampas ? Into what ocean do the rivers 
of South America run? Why do no rivers flow west 
into the Pacific? 


Often travellers sailing up the Rhine in the 
right season may see the country people, in 
their bright, gay dresses, gathering the grapes. 

But the strangest sight on the Rhine, to us, 
would be certain great, gray piles of stone build¬ 
ings, called castles , on the tops of the steep, high 
peaks, rising from the banks of the river, or at 
some distance from it. Some of these castles 
were built hundreds of years ago, in dangerous, 
fighting times, when those who were strongest 
took care of themselves, and those who were 
able built strong places to live in; choosing some 
high, rough spot where it would be hard for 
enemies to reach them. 

So the old castles were made with strong, 
high walls, narrow windows, heavy, iron doors, 
court-yards for men and horses, places for guns, 
and loop-holes to peep through ; and there was 
no end of the long passages, narrow stairways, 
great halls, high chambers to hold the ladies 
safely, and deep, dark cellars, sometimes for 
wine and beer, sometimes for prisons. 

All that kind of living is over now ; and many 
of the castles are only old, gray ruins, over¬ 
grown with moss and vines, looking grim and 
dark and silent, far up above the green vineyards 
and pleasant villages. 

Many boats sail up and down the Rhine ; and 
people from other countries often like a summer 
sail upon its waters. 

Not very far from the Rhine is the River Elbe, 
running north-west into the North Sea. 

In England, there is a river called the Thames, 
that you will often hear of; not because it is a 
great river, for it is not very long, compared 

Lesson XXII. — Why are the rivers in Europe 
shorter than those in America ? Which are the longest ? 
What is said of the Rhine? What are castles? Why 
are no castles built now ? Where is the Elbe ? What 
river in England ? 

































RIVERS OF AFRICA. 


53 



CASTLE ON THE RHINE. 


with the rivers of America. Though it runs 
through a pleasaut country, dotted with towns 
and country-houses, with pretty lawns sloping to 
the water, the Thames is not so beautiful as 
some other rivers ; but it is in one of the best 
known countries in the world, and the great 
city of London is on its banks. 


LESSON XXIII. 

RIVERS OF AFRICA. 

The Nile. — Look nowin the north-east part 
of Africa, and there, in a country called Egypt, 
you will find a river running north into the 
Mediterranean Sea. This is the Nile ; and it is 
one of the most remarkable rivers in the world. 


You will often read of it for several reasons, — 
because of a great people who lived near it long- 
ago ; because of large, splendid cities on its 
banks ; because of more than one terrible battle 
fought there ; and, most of all, because it is a 
very strange river. For a great while, nobody 
knew where it came from ; and its true source 
was found only very lately, iu a great lake far 
away among the high mountains at the south. 

The Nile flows through a long, narrow valley, 
and there is no rain all the year round, — not a 
drop of rain ; and yet the land around is rich 
and green, and the crops of grain never fail. 
Often, indeed, when there has been a scarcity 
in the neighboring countries, people have sent 
for grain to the banks of the Nile. 

But grain cannot grow without water ; and 

Why should it be remembered ? What kind of a coun¬ 
try does the Nile flow through'? 


What is said of the Thames ? 

Lesson XXIII.—What large river in Egypt? 







































































54 


RIVERS OF AFRICA. RIVERS IN ASIA. 


the land would be dry and bare, like the Great 
Desert near, if it were not for what happens to 
the Nile every year. 

Though it does not rain in the valley of 
Egypt, it rains hard far to the south, where the 
little streams begin that make the Nile. There,- 
among some high mountains, the rain pours, 
and the water rushes down in torrents, swollen 
by the melting snows from the high peaks. So 
in the rainy season the water from all the little 
mountain streams is forced into the Nile ; making 
it rise along its whole length, even for hundreds 
of miles beyond where rain falls. Higher and 
higher it rises, until the water flows over the 
banks on both sides, covering the fields far and 
wide. After some days, the water sinks again, 
and leaves the earth — a wide space for miles on 
each side of the river — nothing but soft mud. 
Then the farmers come out with great rejoicing, 
making a festival of planting their grain, which 
they may do without the trouble of ploughing ; 
for they have only to scatter it in the soft mud, 
where it covers itself, and keeps wet for some 
time. In such a hot climate, it soon sprouts ; 
and, in a short time, the harvest is ready to be 
gathered. 

The people make many canals across the 
country, by which they carry the water to a 
great distance from the river, and manage so as 
to pour it over the fields as they need it. In 
this way they raise three crops in a year, in 
some places. 

In the slimy mud, on the edge of the river, 
creep huge, horrible-looking creatures, called 
crocodiles . They are like giant lizards, with 
their great feet, scaly backs, and long rows of 
big teeth in a monstrous mouth, that can easily 

What happens to the Nile every year ? How is grain 
planted ? Why are canals made ? What animals live in 
the Nile ? What other large river in Africa ? 


take in a man. You may think how people dis¬ 
like and fear them. 

There is another large animal often seen 
standing in the shallow parts of the Nile ; not 
so horrible and dangerous as the crocodile, but 
ugly enough. It is called hippopotamus , — a 
long, hard word, which only means river horse. 

There is another large river in the west of 
Africa, called the Niger; and many smaller 
streams run into the Atlantic and into the In¬ 
dian Ocean. It is not known yet exactly what 
is in the middle part of the continent. 


LESSON XXIV. 

RIVERS IN ASIA. 

There are three large rivers in the northern 
part of Asia, — the Lena, Yenisei, and Obe ; 
but as these all flow into the Arctic Ocean, 
through a cold, dreary country, they are of little 
use. 

i 

There are also three rivers flowing east into 
the Pacific, — the Amoor, Yang-tse-Kiang, and 
IIoang-Ho. Very queer names, you will say ; 
and it is a queer country they run through, 
crowded with queer people. You will hear 
more of them by and by, and how men live in 
boats on the Yang-tse-Kiang. 

Running into the bays of the Indian Ocean 
are several other large rivers, some of them 
rushing down from the Himalaya Mountains at 
a furious rate. The Ganges is the largest. 

In the south-western part of Asia, there are 
two rivers that you will often read of, — the Ti¬ 
gris and Euphrates. There are not only large 
cities now on their banks, full of busy people trad- 

Lesson NXIV. — What three rivers in the north of 
Asia ”? What ones run east into the Pacific ? What other 
rivers in Asia ? 






























CONTINENTS DESCRIBED. 


ing with the caravans passing to and fro, but on 


the plains around are ruins of old cities built 
long, long ago. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

(See Map No. 2.) 

Where is the Mississippi ? The Amazon ? 

Where is the Nile ? La Plata? St. Lawrence? 

What are the chief rivers in Europe ? 

What river in the north of North America ? 

Where is the Orinoco ? 

Where are the Yang-tse-Kiang and Hoang-Ho? 

Where are the Lena, Yenisei, and Obe? 

Where is the River Thames ? 

Where is the Rhine ? 


LESSON XXV. 

CONTINENTS DESCRIBED. 

North America. — North America is bound¬ 
ed on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the 
east by the Atlantic, and on the west by the 
Pacific. 

The waters of these oceans run into the coast, 
and make Baffin’s Bay, Hudson’s Bay, Gulf of 
St. Lawrence, Massachusetts Bay, Delaware 
Bay, Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico, and 
Gulf of California. 

The broadest part of the continent lies about 
the Northern Ocean, and it narrows down almost 
to a point toward the equator ; so that most of 
the countries are either very cold, or mild and 
pleasant. Only a small part is in the hot zone. | 

The Rocky Mountains run from north to 
soutli through the western part; and, in the 
east, there are lower, smaller mountains, called 
the Alleghanies. 

Lessox XXV. — How is North America bounded? 
What gulfs and bays around it ? Where is the largest 
part of the continent ? What mountains ? What rivers ? 


Rivers. —* The Mackenzie River, and other 
smaller ones, flow toward the north into the 
Arctic waters. 

I he St, Lawrence, Hudson, and several other 
quite large rivers, flow into the Atlantic Ocean. 

The Mississippi, with its large branches, 
runs south into the Gulf of Mexico. 

The Columbia, and some smaller rivers, run 
west into the Pacific Ocean. 

Several of the largest lakes in the world are 
in North America,- — Lake Superior, Lake 
Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Onta¬ 
rio, and. farther north, Great Slave and Great 
Bear Lakes: 

Most of the northern part of North America 
belongs to the English, and is called British 
America. The north-west corner belongs to 
Russia ; and Greenland, on the north-east, to the 
Danes. All these countries are very cold, and 
generally covered with snow. 

The middle part of the continent is our own, 
containing the United States and Territories, 
and is the most pleasant part. Mexico is in the 
southern part, and reaches down into the hot 
zone. 

South America. — South America is bound¬ 
ed on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the 
east by the Atlantic, and on the west by the Pa¬ 
cific. 

The coast is not cut into by the water, like 
that of North America ; and there are no large 
bays. 

The larger part of this continent lies about 
the equator: therefore most of the countries are 
hot, and always green. The southern point 
reaches to the Southern Ocean, and is cold and 

What lakes ? What countries ? Give the whole account 
of North America. How is South America bounded ? 
What bays and gulfs ? Where is the broadest part of the 
continent? 

















56 


CONTINENTS DESCRIBED. 


dreary. Vessels passing round this point are 
sometimes dashed to pieces by blocks of floating 
ice. 

The high, long chain of the Andes Mountains 
runs along the west coast; and in the east there 
are some short, low chains, called the Brazilian 
Mountains. 

There are three large rivers in South Ameri¬ 
ca, running through great, flat plains. 

The Orinoco is in the north, and winds about, 
through its broad, grassy plains, into the Atlantic. 

The Amazon is one of the largest rivers in the 
world, and flows from the Andes, through many 
hundred miles of forest land, into the Atlantic. 

The La Plata is farther south, and also runs 
into the Atlantic. 

South America was found by the Spaniards. 
People from Spain and Portugal came over long 
ago, and settled in different places. At first, 
they formed colonies ; but, after a while, these 
became independent countries, or states. The 
people still speak Spanish or Portuguese, just as 
we speak the same language that our great-great¬ 
grandfathers brought from England to North 
America. 

The largest cities are Rio Janeiro and Buenos 
Ayres on the east coast, Lima near the Pacific, 
Valparaiso on the west coast; and among the 
mountains, Bogota, Caraccas, and Quito. 


LESSON XXVI. 

CONTINENTS DESCRIBED. 

Europe. — Europe is bounded on the north 
by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by Asia, on the 
south by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the west 
by the Atlantic Ocean. 

What mountains? What rivers? How was South 
America settled ? What are the largest cities ? Give the 
whole account of South America. 


These waters make the Black Sea, Archipela¬ 
go, Adriatic Sea, Bay of Biscay, North Sea, 
Baltic Sea, and White Sea. 

The chains of mountains cannot be so long as 
those of America; but there are more of them. 
The Ural Mountains are between Russia and 
Asia, the Apennines run through Italy, the Pyr¬ 
enees are between France and Spain, and the 
Alps — the highest of all the mountains — run 
through the southern part of the continent. 

The Volga and some other large rivers flow 
through Russia. The beautiful River Rhine 
and the Elbe run north-west into the North Sea. 
The great city of Paris is on the River Seine, 
in France. The River Rhone is also in France, 
and the Thames in England. The Danube runs 
east, through the south of Europe, into the Black 
Sea. 

There are many beautiful lakes among the 
mountains ; but they are quite small. 

Europe is the smallest of the continents. 
None of it is in the hot zone ; but the greater 
part is warm enough to be very pleasant, and 
even in the northern part it is not so cold as in 
British America. 

The eastern half is taken up by Russia. The 
other principal countries are Turkey, Austria, 
Prussia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, 
Spain, Holland, Denmark, Norway, and Swe¬ 
den. England, Scotland, and Ireland are always 
considered as countries of Europe, though really 
they are islands off the west coast. 

London and Paris are the greatest cities of 
the world. Rome is famous for paintings and 
statues, and for ruins of splendid buildings of 
old times. Naples is a city of Italy, near the 
volcano Vesuvius ; and Venice, in the northern 

Lesson XXVI. — How is Europe bounded ? What 
bays and gulfs? What mountains? What rivers? 
What countries? What are the largest cities? 






























CONTINENTS DESCRIBED. 


57 


part, is built on little islands in the water. Mar¬ 
seilles is in France, on the Mediterranean coast. 
Madrid is the capital of Spain, Edinburgh the 
capital of Scotland, and Dublin of Ireland. St. 
Petersburg is in the northern part of Russia, 
and Moscow is farther south. 

Asia. — Asia is bounded on the north by the 
Arctic Ocean, on the east by the Pacific, on the 
south by the Indian Ocean, and on the west by 
Europe. 

The bays and seas around it are, Sea of Kamt- 
schatka, Sea of Okhotsh, Sea of Japan, Yellow 
Sea, China Sea, Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, 
Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, 
Black Sea, and Caspian Sea. 

There are four great mountain chains running 
across from east to west. The highest and most 
southern chain is the Himalaya. The Altai 
Mountains are farthest north. Beside these, 
there are some short chains in the south-west; 
and the Ural Mountains run between Asia and 
Europe. 

Three large rivers, the Lena, Obe, and Yeni¬ 
sei, flow north through the great plain of Sibe¬ 
ria. The Yang-tse-Kiang and Hoang-Ho flow 
eastward, through China, into the Pacific Ocean ; 
and running southward into the Indian Ocean 
are the Ganges, Indus, Tigris, and Euphrates. 

All the northern part of Asia is a great plain, 
divided from the European plain by the Ural 
Mountains. It belongs to the Russians, and is 
sometimes called Russia in Asia, instead of Si¬ 
beria. The middle part of Asia is a large des¬ 
ert of sand, shut in by mountains, where tribes 
of wandering Tartars live. China is in the east¬ 
ern part; and Hindostan, or India, is south of the 
Himalaya Mountains. England governs India ; 

How is Asia bounded? What bays and gulfs? What 
mountains ? What rivers ? What of the different coun¬ 
tries? Where are some of the cities? How is Africa 
8 


and there is a great deal of trade between the 
two countries. Arabia is a large peninsula in 
the south-west corner of Asia, where it joins 
Africa. 

Palestine, or the Holy Land, lies along the 
east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of 
Arabia; and all through that part of Asia are 
places spoken of in the Bible. 

The city of Jerusalem is there ; and farther 
east, in Turkey, is the beautiful city of Damas¬ 
cus. Mecca is in Arabia. Calcutta is a large 

© 

city in India. Pekin and Canton are Chinese 
cities. 

Africa. —Africa is bounded on the north by 
the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by the In¬ 
dian Ocean, and on the west by the Atlantic; 
There are three ridges of mountains running from 
east to west, — the Atlas in the north, the Kong 
Mountains in the western part, and the Snow 
Mountains in South Africa. The Mountains of 
the Moon run parallel with the east coast. 

There are two or three large rivers. The 
Nile runs through the north-eastern part of Af¬ 
rica into the Mediterranean. The Niger is in 
the west, and flows into the Atlantic; and a 
large river has been found in the interior of 
the continent. 

The northern part of Africa belongs to Arabs, 
or Moors. Egypt, one of the oldest countries 
in the world, is in the north-east. The Negro 
tribes live along the east and west coasts ; and 
the southern point belongs to the English. 

The interior of Africa is not very well known. 
There is an immense desert towards the north ; 
and some new traveller every little while tells 
something about new forests, lakes, rivers, and 
tribes of negroes. 

bounded? What mountains ? What rivers ? What is 
said of Africa? Give the whole account of Europe. Of 
Asia. Of Africa. 




























58 


COUNTRIES AND NATIONS. 


PART THIRD. 


LESSON I. 

COUNTRIES AND NATIONS. 

You know that in all these different lands on 
the surface of the earth there live many millions 
of people. These people must find food for 
themselves, and clothes, and often comforts and 
pleasures ; but, if you will think a moment, you 
will see that they cannot all have the same kind 
of clothes and food : each one will need what is 
suitable for him in his own home. What kind 
of clothes should you think were needed in the 
frozen lands near the north pole ? Warm clothes, 
you say. True ; and the very best thing for 
keeping one warm is fur. You often see ladies 
wear fur tippets and muffs here in the winter. 
God has ordered every thing rightly ; so that the 
animals in such lands have fur-covered skins, 
some strong and coarse, others soft and fine. 
And of these skins the people make coats, caps, 
and boots, to keep their bodies from the biting 
frost. But, in hot countries, such clothes would 
be very uncomfortable; and there men soon 
learn to make something light and thin to wear. 

It is just so with food. Where the weather 
is cold, the blood must be heated by eating 
strong food ; and the people who wear furs live 
altogether on meat, eating quantities of fat from 
whales, seals, and other animals that live there. 
But, if persons in hot climates eat much meat, 

Lesson I. — What must people find for themselves ? 
Why do people have different food and clothes ? What 
kinds are proper for cold places ? 


they soon sicken and die. God has therefore 
given them grain, vegetables, and fruits to live 
upon : and the hotter the country, the more cool, 
juicy fruits there are ; so that the very poorest 
people may have them. 

In different lands, there is also different work 
for men to do ; and they must have very different 
habits and ways of living. Very far north, in 
the cold, they pass their days in hunting such 
animals as are needed constantly both for food 
and clothes. Each man must have skin coats, 
boots, caps, and beds for himself, his wife, and 
his children ; for they all dress much alike. And 
he must also get plenty of meat for them to eat, 
and oil to burn in their lamps. Men who are 
born near the sea will be apt to.fish, or to sail 
over the waters trading. These love the great, 
blue ocean. People among the mountains will 
keep goats and sheep for their wool; or will be 
miners, and dig for iron, lead, gold, or coal. 
Those in rich, level lands plant grain to make 
flour or meal for themselves and others. Cotton 
and flax grow in some countries, and are sold to 
make cloth for thousands of people. Everywhere 
men must do something to live ; and what they 
do will depend a good deal, you see, on the 
country they happen to live in. And so they all 
help each other by exchanging the things found 
in the different parts of the earth. 

There is another reason why people are very 

For hot places ? How does the work differ in different 
lands? What is the difference between civilized people 
and savages ? 





























COUNTRIES AND NATIONS. GOVERNMENT. 


59 


different: it is that some have learned much 
more than others. Savages, or ignorant people, 
who have no books, churches, schools, factories, 
music, nor pictures, care for nothing but eating, 
hunting, or fighting, and only know how to 
make a few clothes of skins, or plain, coarse 
cloth. But men often go on learning more and 
more, finding out one thing after another, until 
they can build large, fine houses of brick or 
stone, instead of little huts, to live in. The cot¬ 
ton spinners improve constantly, until we have 
fine muslins and pretty calicoes, instead of coarse, 
plain cloth. Thousands of beautiful as well as 
useful things are made ; and children are taught 
to read, sing, and dance. All this learning is 
called civilization , and such people are said to 
be civilized ; but, if they know nothing of all 
these things, they are savage or barbarous. 

All the people living together, speaking the 
same language, and having the same habits, 
make up what we call a nation. The part of 
the world that belongs to any one nation is called 
its country, and no other people has a right to 
it. Every country and nation has its own name, 
and you will find a number of countries in each 
of the great continents. Some of these coun¬ 
tries, or states, are large and powerful; others 
are very small. 


LESSON II. 

GOVERNMENT. 

What happens when a man in this town, or in 
any other town, steals, or kills people, or does 
any bad thing? He is put in jail, you say. Yes ; 
but whose business is it to see that he is caught 
and punished? If each of us tried to punish 
every one who troubles us, there would be nothing 
What, is a nation 1 A country ? 

Lesson II. — Why must all nations have a govern- 


but quarrelling all the time, and the strongest 
would have their way against the weakest. 

People found out long ago that they could not 
live happily, or work quietly, or improve in any 
way, except by joining together and protecting 
one another, agreeing to obey certain rules or 
laws good for all. But there must be persons 
to find out what laws are good for all, and 
to see that no man breaks them. So, while 
merchants are buying and selling, and doctors 
visiting the sick, and carpenters building houses, 
some men are chosen to take care that no one 
shall be disturbed, and to find out the best ways 
of making the country rich, and pleasant to live 
in. This is called governing a country or nation ; 
and each nation has its own way of governing. 
In some, such as our own, the highest ruler is 
called a president , and is chtisen by the people. 
Some countries are ruled by Icings aud queens , 
who are not chosen by the people. The same 
man is king as long as he lives ; and after him 
his son must be the next king, whether he is 
liked or not. For this reason, it has often hap¬ 
pened that the rulers of a nation, instead of be¬ 
ing wise, good men, as they should be, have been 
bad or silly, and so have made their people poor 
and unhappy. In old times, kings were more pow¬ 
erful than they are now ; but people have learned 
better, and do not give them so much power. 

There is still one part of the world where the 
kings, who are called sultans or caliphs , can 
have pretty much their own way. In some wild, 
uncivilized countries, the different tribes have 
chiefs , who lead them in fighting, which is their 
chief occupation. 

Beside these great rulers of nations, there 
are many others who help the kings or presi¬ 
dents,—judges, governors, and other officers. 

ment? What is the ruler of our eountry called ? What 
names have rulers in other countries ? Tell what you can 
of them. 





































































MAP QUESTIONS. ABOUT GREECE. 


61 


LESSON III. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

Which three continents touch the Arctic Ocean ? 
Which three are toward the Antarctic Ocean ? 

What part of North America is very cold? 

What kind of countries do you think we shall find 
there ? 

Is the southern part of North America cold or hot ? 

In what part ot North America are the countries 
pleasant ? 

What part of South America is hottest ? 

W hat sort ot country should you suppose that narrow 
southern point of South America to he ? Why ? 

In what parts of North and South America will the 
; countries be mountainous ? Where are the lowlands? 

In what part of Asia shall we find hot countries ? 

In what part of Europe arc warm, pleasant countries? 
What are the coldest parts of Europe and Asia ? 

Is the greatest part of Africa hot or cold ? 

Is any part of Africa cold ? Why ? 

What parts of Asia arc flat ? What parts of Europe ? 
What parts of Africa ? What parts of each are moun¬ 
tainous ? 

What waters touch Asia ? Europe ? America ? 

What continent west from North America ? 

What east from South America 7 
Where is Australia ? 

What large island country belongs to Europe? 

What large island country belongs to Asia? (Japan.) 
Which have the most cold, snowy lands, the northern 
or southern continents? 


LESSON IV. 

ABOUT GREECE. 

On the next page is a map of Europe alone, 
taken out from the other continents, and made 
large, so that you may find the different countries 
marked on it. Long, long ago, when there were 
no white men in America, no towns, no roads, 


| only the wild Indians hunting deer and buffalo 
through the thick woods, and when people in the 
Old W orld had no idea that there was another 
continent on the other side of the world, there 
were two nations in the south of Europe who 
already had palaces, fine temples, roads, and 
cities, and lived in great power and splendor. 
Ihese people were the Greeks and Romans ; and 
you may find their countries in the south of Eu¬ 
rope, almost surrounded by the Mediterranean 
Sea. The home of the Greeks was Greece, and 
never was there a more beautiful home. The 
whole country is cut up by small ridges of moun¬ 
tains or hills, with charming valleys between, 
watered by many little rivers, and shaded with 
groves of dark, old olive trees, bearing the little 
fruit that makes our sweet oil. 

This was before Christ was born on the earth ; 
and these old-time Greeks were not Christians, 
but worshipped a great many different gods. 
They built temples for these gods, and made 
statues, that is, human forms, out of marble, 
to represent each god and goddess. The great- ! 
est of these gods was named Jupiter ; and 
there were many statues and temples for him 
all over the land. Neptune was the god of the 
sea ; and, when men were going to sea, they 
offered a sacrifice, and made gifts to him, that 
they might have a safe vpyage. There was a 
god of war called Mars , and soldiers prayed to j 
him before a battle. If they conquered their 
enemies, they often brought rich gifts of gold | 
cups or vases, and other things, for the temple. ! 
Even poor people offered such gifts as they 
could ; for they imagined that this was good¬ 
ness, and many of them really believed that the 
gods could enjoy the presents. But I rather 


Lesson IV. — Who were the old Greeks and Romans ? What was the religion of the Greeks 7 Mention some 
1 AVhat is said of Greece ? of their irods. 








































ua<^ u 




''^WN 


/vi*« 

- *- ®.^ 

































































GliECIAN VIEW. 


think the priests, or people who took care of the 
temples, had the gifts ; since we know there 
were really no such gods, Vulcan was the god 
of fire ; and this is why burning mountains were 
called volcanoes. The people thought he made 
swords and armor for the gods. 

It was a strange idea of the Greeks, that their 
gods loved, hated, married, and fought, just 
like human beings. Even this sort of wor¬ 
ship made them less rude than many nations 
around them. They loved beautiful things, 
such as pictures, statues, fine buildings, &c., 
more than the surrounding nations. A few of 
their statues have been kept and admired ever 
since, and no finer ones are made now. 

They often had public games or races in 
honor of some god, when all the Greeks came 


from every part of the land to the sacred 
groves ; and there the most active young men 
ran races on foot, or in chariots drawn by 
four or six horses. Those who Avon Avere 
crowned with wreaths of myrtle leaves, and 
verses were sung in their praise. The chief of 
these were called the Olympic games, held in 
honor of their great Jupiter. You will read all 
about them some time ; for there are books full 
of stories about these brave, beauty-loving, song¬ 
making Greeks of the old times. 

They were very particular about their chil¬ 
dren. Sons were brought up strictly; taught 
to be brave, and to love their country more 
than life. They were made to practise running, 
boxing, and leaping, that their limbs might 


What games had they? What is said of their chil¬ 
dren ? 


Did that kind of religion do them any good ? 
































64 


ABOUT GREECE. ABOUT ITALY. 


grow strong and active. But the best of all 
was the great respect they were taught to feel 
for their parents and aged persons. Young lads 
were allowed to sit in company with old men, to 
hear wise words, and learn to rule the country ; 
but they never thought of speaking, or getting in 
the way. Often the wise men taught in the 
streets ; and some of those lessons have been 
kept safely ever since, so that now our own bovs 
learn them. 

But what has become of these Greeks ? 
There is the country, with the same hills, the 
same blue sky and sea, the same olive groves, 
and the same mild, pleasant air, but not the 
same people. People still live there, and they 
are called Greeks ; but we think or hear little of 
them. The fine, brave men of old times began 
at last to quarrel among themselves ; and then 
they were conquered, their beautiful temples 
were destroyed, and statues carried off; and now 
their glory and power are gone. 

You must find Athens on the map ; for that 
was their great city, and strangers visit it to see 
the parts of fine buildings still standing. 

Y r ou see that Greece is almost cut into two 

parts by the sea running up into the land. 

Just on this narrow neck of land is another lar^e 

© 

city, once rich and gay. This is Corinth ; and 
you will remember it, for there are two letters 
in our New Testament, which St. Paul wrote to 
the Corinthians after he had been there, and 
persuaded some of them to be Christians. 

As the Greeks had such a small country, they 
often went off in companies, as the English have 
done since, and made new towns for themselves 
all along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. 


What of Greece in our 11010? Where is Athens? 
I What do you know about Corinth ? Where did the 
Greeks build other cities ? 


MAP QUESTIONS. 

What water east of Greece ? What water west ? 
What country north ? What sea south ? 

Where is Athens ? Corinth ? 


LESSON Y. 

ABOUT ITALY. 

West of Greece is a long, narrow country, 
somewhat in the shape of a boot, which is called 
Italy. On the west coast of this Italy is the 
city of Rome ; and there lived the Romans, who 
spoke the Latin language, that is still taught in 
our schools. 

This city was begun so very long ago, that it 
is not easy to get the exact history of it ; and you 
will read all manner of stories about it, quite as 
wonderful as fairy tales. Certain it is, that this 
was the home of bold, strong men, who thought 
fighting the only thing worth doing ; and so they 
went on making slaves of their neighbors, and 
taking towns, until they got pretty much all the 
land that lies around the Mediterranean Sea. 
As this was most of the earth then known, 
Rome was called the mistress of the world ; 
and the Romans became proud boasters, think¬ 
ing every thing and everybody were made for 
their use. All this time they had not cared so 
much for beautiful things as the Greeks, and 
thought only of war. Many kings of small 
tribes paid them large sums of money every 
year; and thousands of men and women of dif¬ 
ferent nations were slaves to them. 

At last, when they became so rich and power¬ 
ful, living luxuriously, and wearing fine clothes, 
they did not fight so well; and the young nobles, 


Lesson Y. —Where is Italy ? What is said of Rome ? 
A hat kind of people were the old Romans ? 



































ABOUT ITALY. ABOUT FRANCE. 


65 


instead of loving their country as their grand¬ 
fathers had done, thought only of getting gold to 
spend, and of abusing the people. 

The emperors who ruled the people could not 
rule themselves, and were often very bad men. 
Some of these emperors were so cruel and wick¬ 
ed, that they were more like wild beasts than 
men, and sometimes killed their brothers, friends, 
or even parents. 

The people at last got tired of such doings ; 
and the soldiers began to take things into their 
own hands, and appoint the rulers. 

At last, the conquered nations, finding out 
that the terrible Romans did not fight so well as 
formerly, refused to pay more money, and took 
back many of their towns. And, worse than all, 
down rushed whole nations of rude, bold sav¬ 
ages from the north of Europe and Asia, over¬ 
running Italy, and destroying its cities, with 
palaces, libraries, books, &c.; and now the Latin 
language is not spoken. But it took very many 
years for all this to happen; and in that time 
there were many wise and good Romans,— 
brave generals, good teachers, doctors, and 
writers. Some of their books have been kept, 
as some of the Greek books were, and are still 
read. 

The Romans had many of the same gods as 
the Greeks, with temples, statues, and festivals. 

The people in Italy are now called Italians, 
and speak another language. They are not 
powerful as the old Romans were. 

Travellers like to visit Italy to see the ruins 
of the old palaces and temples that are still 
standing; and many of the finest statues and 
pictures in the world are at Rome. There are 
other reasons why people from distant lands 

What of some of their emperors ? What happened to 
the Romans at last? What of their books and religion? 
What arc the people of Italy now called ? What is said 
9 


like to go to Italy. It is one of the most 
beautiful countries in the world. The weather 
is mild and pleasant. There are charming 
valleys with lakes, and lovely little streams. 
Along the hillsides, among the lakes and woods, 
are handsome country houses and gardens, be¬ 
side pretty villages, and old, gray castles far up 
on the cliffs. 

There are many large, beautiful cities. One 
of these is Florence ; and on the West coast you 
will find a city called Naples, built on one of the 
most beautiful bays in the world. Just in sight 
of Naples is the volcano of Vesuvius, whose 
eruptions have often destroyed towns and farms 
around. It is almost always smoking, and often 
throws out ashes and stones. You will remem¬ 
ber we have already spoken of two cities which 
were covered up by ashes or streams of burning 
lava in the time of the old Romans. 

In the northern part of Italy is a strange city 
called Venice, built in the midst of the water, on 
many little islands. A great many of the streets 
are of water; and, instead of carriages, people 
use little boats, called gondolas. It would seem 
strange to us to sail up and down these water- 
streets ; and very charming, on a moonlight 
night, to be gliding smoothly along while the 
boatmen sing as they row. 


LESSON VI. 

ABOUT FRANCE. 

North-west of Italy is a large, fine country 
that you often hear of; for it belongs to the 
French people, and we have a great deal of 
commerce with them. Our boys and girls study 

of them ? Why do travellers like to visit Italy ? Where 
is Florence? Naples? Venice? Vesuvius? 

Lesson VI. — What country north-west of Italy ? 































G6 


ABOUT FRANCE. 


French in school; and even some of you little 
ones are already learning a few words of the 
language that comes naturally to the children in 
France. 

We visit them, read their books, follow their 
fashions, and trade with them. You would never 
guess how many things that you see almost 
every day have been brought across the ocean 
from this far-off France. 

Do you not often see in the dry-goods stores 
shelves filled with muslins, chintz, or delaines, 
covered with bunches of tiny, gay-colored flowers, 
or charming little vines, or graceful leaves ? It 
is almost certain that the prettiest and finest 
were made in France ; for the people there seem 
to have such beautiful fancies, and know how to 
match colors so nicely, that ladies always like 
their articles best. 

There will probably be in the same stores 
long rows of flat, paper boxes full of beautiful 
embroideries, generally called “ French work.” 
While the French factories are making yards of 
muslins and chintz, hundreds of poor French 
Avomen in the narroAv, dirty streets of large 
towns are busy, working beautiful vines and 
clusters of flowers on fine cambric. 

In another row of boxes, there are, perhaps, 
soft kid gloves and handsome fans. French 
gloves and French fans are always liked the 
best everywhere. Almost all our silks, and 
much of our elegant jewelry, come from France. 
Beside all these things, our finest wines, per¬ 
fumes, and articles of the toilet, are made there. 

On far the greater part of French goods is 
found the name “ Paris,” which is the great 
city of France. And a great city it is ; one of 
the largest and best known in the world. There 


What have we to do with France * What is its great 
city 1 What is said of it ? Of its houses ? 


are so many streets, so croivded, and so long, 
that you could never walk half through them. 
There are splendid palaces for the emperor and 
empress, grand old churches, public gardens 
with .flowers and fountains where people Avalk 
or ride, large halls where beautiful pictures are 
hung, and museums where all sorts of strange 
things are kept. There is also a place called the 
u Darden of Plants,” where they have gathered 
strange or beautiful trees and flowers from all 
parts of the world. 

The houses in Paris are built several stories 
high ; and it is the custom for three or four fam¬ 
ilies to live in one house. On the ground-floor 
are shops ; on the first floor live the wealthy 
gentlemen; above these, the families of mer¬ 
chants, tradespeople, &c. ; and in the garrets, 
Avorkmen and poor sewing-women. The great 
staircase going from the bottom to the top of the 
house is like a street, all the different lodgers 
having to pass up and down. 

You may find Paris on the River Seine, and 
then may look for Bordeaux on the Avestern 
coast. It is from Bordeaux that claret, and 
boxes of prunes, are sent. 

Marseilles is the chief seaport on the Medi¬ 
terranean. 

The greater part of France is rich and beau¬ 
tiful, with hills and pretty valleys, small rivers 
watering the land, and handsome cities and vil¬ 
lages scattered over all the country. 

It is beautiful to see the vineyards on the sun¬ 
ny slopes, with the ripe grapes hanging in clus¬ 
ters on every vine. The grape vines are not 
spread out as we see them in gardens here ; but 
Avhole fields are planted in rows; and the vines 
are twined around poles stuck in the ground a 


Where is Bordeaux ? What comes from there ? Where 
is Marseilles ? 


































m^WAAi'/JHEH Sf- 
Avh-jZYlM -%\it~^ 


GRAPE GATHERING 


little distance apart, so that the grapes may turn 
to the sun, and be easily gathered. At a certain 
time of the year, when the grapes are ripe, all 
the country people turn out, — men, women, 
and children, — and have a great merry-making, 
gathering them to make wine. This is called 
the vintage; and you may be sure the young 
people look forward to it with longing hearts, as 
well they may, for indeed we should enjoy the 
fun ourselves. Early in the morning, people are 
seen hurrying from farms and villages with large 
baskets ; young girls meet together, laughing 
and chatting as they go ; old men lean on their 
sticks, and hobble out to see the sport; and chil¬ 
dren run about dancing and shouting. The 
short, bright-colored skirts and jaunty little 
hats of the girls look gay among the vines ; and 
every face is smiling. 


The grapes are gathered in baskets, and emp¬ 
tied into great heavy wagons, that go rolling 
along the roads, piled up with rich purple bunch¬ 
es, until they reach the place where they are to 
be crushed. There the great quivering, drip¬ 
ping load is toppled over into a huge tub, or 
trough; and then strong, stout, bare-legged 
men jump in, and tramp all over the beautiful 
grapes, crushing the juice out until it is like a 
purple lake. How dirty ! ” you say. Well, it 
seems so ; but it is said that the juice cannot be 
pressed out in any other way, without bruising 
the skin and seed, and thus giving a bad taste 
to the wine. 

France has always been one of the most 
powerful nations of the world. The em¬ 
peror who now rules in France is Louis Na¬ 
poleon, 


What is said of the vineyards ? Tell about the vintage. 


How is wine made'? Who is the Emperor of France? 





















































68 


MAP QUESTIONS. SPAIN. 


MAP QUESTIONS. 

What water south of Prance ? What water north-west ? 
Where is Paris ? What river is it on ? Where is Bor¬ 
deaux ? 

Where is Marseilles ? What countries touch France ? 
What mountains south of Prance ? What country be¬ 
yond the mountains ? 


LESSON VII. 

SPAIN. 

You see on the map a narrow passage of 
water separating the south-west corner of Eu¬ 
rope from Africa. This is the Strait of Gibral¬ 
tar ; and on both coasts rise huge cliffs of rock, 
making a great gate, through which vessels sail 
from the Atlantic Ocean into the Mediterranean 
Sea. 

Long ago, some of the Moors, or people in the 
north of Africa, crossed this strait to look for a 
new home. They did not have to go far; for, 
just where they landed on the coast of Europe, 
they found a beautiful valley, with hills, plains, 
groves of trees, and an abundance of little 
streams running into one of the prettiest rivers 
in the world. The climate was mild, never too 
hot nor too cold, and suited for oranges, olives, 
and many other fruits. 

Here they settled in the southern part of the 
country which we now call Spain. You will 
like to learn about these Moors one of these 
days, — how they were the very people to enjoy 
beautiful things of all kinds, and went to work 
to make that pleasant country still more beauti¬ 
ful. Soon groves of olive and orange trees, 
roads, towns, and gardens, appeared over all the 
land. They built a large city called Granada, 

Lesson VII. — Where is the Strait of Gibraltar ? What 
people crossed over from Africa into Spain long ago? 
What kind of country did they find? 


and in it were magnificent palaces. One of these, 
called the Alhambra, is standing to this day, 
though cobblers and porters live in the rooms 
where the Moorish kings used to command. 
The halls were carved and ornamented, and the 
gardens made delightful with fountains, fragrant 
shrubs, and gay birds. Here the rich, brave 
Moors lived happily with their wives and daugh¬ 
ters, who were often very beautiful. 

But they were years in settling the country ; 
and all the while the people north of them, who 
were mostly Christians, had become more and 
more powerful, till at last nearly all the country 
was governed by the Spanish rulers, Ferdinand 
and Isabella. 

This king and queen did not like the idea of 
having such a proud, powerful people as the 
Moors in the same country with them, especially 
in the best part of it. And, beside, they thought 
it dreadful to be so near such infidels , as they 
called them; for the Moors did not believe in 
Christ, but had a religion of their own. 

The Spanish lords and gentlemen, or knights 
as they were called in those days, were always 
finding excuses for skirmishing with the Moors : 
and at last Ferdinand and Isabella went down 
with a great army, and, after much fighting, con¬ 
quered them ; and, long afterward, they were 
driven from the country. There are still many 
stories, among the people who live in the old 
ruined Moorish halls, of the times when the 
beautiful infidel girls were heard singing behind 
the high walls of their gardens, and the Moorish 
knights ruled in the land. 

This was many years ago, and Spain is not 
such a powerful country now. The wicked driv¬ 
ing-out of the Moors was a great misfortune 
to it. 

What became of the Moors ? What reason have we to 
remember Queen Isabella ? 







































ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND. 


69 


A\ e have good reason to remember Isabella, 
as she sent out the men who first sailed across 
the Atlantic, and found the new continent of 
America. The Spaniards came over afterward, 
and settled in parts of South America, as well 
as in the south of North America; and in those 
places the people still speak Spanish. 

The rest of Spain is not so fair and pleasant 
as the southern part; and much of the country 
is bare and mountainous, so that often, for miles, 
a stranger will find it rather black and gloomy. 
Things do not generally look so bright and cheer¬ 
ful as in France. 

Madrid, where the kings live, is a large city 
in the middle part of Spain. You will find Gra¬ 
nada in the south, and also the Guadalquivir 
River, that flows through the pleasant land of the 
old Moors. 

Salamanca is a large city, famous for schools. 

It seems as if all the Spanish peninsula should 
belong to one people ; but there is a small country 
on the west coast, called Portugal. 

The Portuguese, having so little land at home, 
have always been ready to sail about the world, 
and make new colonies wherever they could. 
They are excellent sailors. 

Lisbon, the capital, is a large city, which 
was once almost destroyed by a terrible earth¬ 
quake. 


LESSON VIII. 

ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND, OR THE 
BRITISH ISLES. 

We have already learned something of Great 
Britain. It is a little island world in itself; but 

Where did the Spaniards first settle in the New World ? 
What of the rest of Spain ? What cities ? What small 
country west of Spain 1 


it is always called one of the countries of Europe, 
because it is so near the continent, that only a 
few hours’ sail across the channel brings one to 
France or Holland. 

England, Scotland, and Wales are one island : 
which looks so small, a mere speck by the side 
of the great countries in Asia, that it is difficult 
to understand how so many large cities, fields 
and forests, lakes and rivers, find room there, 
and how so many thousands of busy people are 
living and working there every day. 

Much of the land belongs to a few rich people ; 
and one nobleman often owns a number of farms, 
or a whole village full of houses, which he rents 
to the men who work the ground. 

On the west of England is Wales, which is 
quite wild and beautiful, with hills, rocks, lakes, 
and streams ; for it is too rough to be all made 
into fields. 

All through England are villages and rail¬ 
roads running from one great city to another; 
such busy cities, Avhere so many hands must 
find work, and so many mouths be fed ! 

There is Manchester, with its tall factory chim¬ 
neys smoking, its steam engines roaring, its 
wheels whirling, and looms clattering. To Man¬ 
chester are carried many bales of cotton from 
America ; and there thousands of men, women, 
and little children, work busily in the factories, 
weaving yards upon yards of calico and muslin 
to be sent abroad to other countries. 

There is Sheffield, where knives, forks, scis¬ 
sors, and all sorts of steel things, are made ; for 
near these cities there is plenty of iron, and 
also plenty of coal for the hot fires that make 
the steam for the engines. 

For what are the Portuguese noted ? What of Lisbon ? 
Lesson YIII. — What is Great Britain called ? What 
is said of England ? For what is Manchester famous ? 
For what Sheffield ? 























70 GREAT BRITAIN. 


ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND I R E LAND. 



WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 


Liverpool is the city where most of the ships 
from America stop, and where there is all the 
time a crowd of vessels of all kinds loading and 
unloading. 

But the largest city is London, where there 
are many public buildings and fine churches, 
beside palaces and parliament-houses. Here 
the queen holds her court, and the lords and 
ladies live in splendor ; while many poor, misera¬ 
ble people, in the far-off, dirty streets, find it hard 
to get any thing to eat. 

There was a time when Scotland did not be¬ 
long to England, but had kings of its own ; and 
there was many a year of fighting and quarrel- 
ling, until Queen Elizabeth of England died with¬ 
out any children, and the King of Scotland, who 
was next of kin, became King of England. 

Scotland, as you see, is north of England, and 
has rather a colder climate. It is far more hilly ; 
and the northern part is so wild and mountain¬ 
ous, that it has always been called the Iligh- 

Where is Liverpool ? What is the great city of Eng¬ 
land? What is said of Scotland? 


lands. Have you ever heard 
of the Highlanders, with their 
dresses of bright plaids and 
their black-plumed caps ? They 
were a bold, hardy people, gath¬ 
ered into different' families, or 
clans , governed by chiefs. The 
clans were named after their 
chiefs ; as, “ Clan Campbell,” 
u Clan Stuart,” &c. ; and each 
clan had its own plaid, so that 
every man was known by his 
dress. It was a long time be¬ 
fore they would have any thing 
to do with the English and the 
more peaceable Lowlanders. I 
should never have done if I 
began to tell you all the stories that have been 
written of them ; about William Wallace and 
Bruce, their great chiefs, their fights, and the 
tales and songs made about them. 

The largest city is Edinburgh, — a beautiful, 
old city, and more quiet than London. 

Ireland was conquered by the English a long 
while ago ; and now Scotland, England, Ireland, 
and Wales all form one country. 

The climate of Ireland is mild, and many 
parts of this island are very beautiful. The 
small farmers rent their lands from the noble¬ 
men, and often have poor cabins, ragged clothes, 
and hungry-looking faces ; but these people are 
always gay, kind-hearted, and generous, and 
ready to help one another. 

There are many fine castles, and large, busy 
cities. Cork is the chief seaport. Dublin is 
a large, handsome city, built on the shore of a 
very beautiful bay. 

The largest river is the Shannon. 

Where is Edinburgh? What is told of Ireland? 
Where is Cork ? Dublin ? What is the largest river ? 






























MAP QUESTIONS. MIDDLE EUROPE. 


71 


MAP QUESTIONS. 

Where is England "? Ireland "? Which way are these 
islands from America 1 What water around England ? 
Where is the River Thames "? 

What large city is on it "? Where is Manchester "? Liv¬ 
erpool 1 

What large city in Scotland ? 

Where is Dublin "? Cork ? 

Where is the River Shannon. 


LESSON IX. 

MIDDLE EUROPE. 

There are other countries in the middle of 
Europe, that you can learn more of by and by. 
Austria is one ; Prussia, another ; and there is 
Switzerland, a little country up in the mountains, 
where the people have always been so bold, 
hardy, and free, in their mountain homes, that 
they would have no king. And though, every 
now and then, the neighboring nations have tried 
to lay hold of this little State, the Swiss have 
fought so hard, killed so many men, and made 
such a troublesome job of it for the strangers, 
that they have thought at last such a small land 
of rocks and snow-topped mountains would be 
too dear a bargain. So the Swiss still live in 
the midst of their glaciers, their pine forests and 
mountain lakes. 

A portion of Germany is flat, and a part lies 
among the smaller ridges of the Alps. Here is 
the Black Forest; and here are many of those 
pretty little villages where the wood carvers and 
shepherd girls live of whom we have already 
spoken. 

Through this country runs the beautiful River 
Rhine, with its old castles, vineyards, and large, 
handsome cities. 

Lesson IX. — What are some of the countries of 
Middle Europe "? What is said of Switzerland t 


Tlie Cologne water you often see is named 
from one of these cities, where the best of it is 
made. 

In a large city called Hamburg, excellent 
pianos are made ; for the Germans are fond of 
music, and much of the finest has been written 
by them. 

The prettiest toys in the world are also made 
in Germany. There are cities where hundreds 
of people live by making these toys, to send off 
for the children in England and America. 

There is scarcely a country where they have 
such pleasant Christmas holidays. In all the 
villages in the land, the bells ring joyously, 
Christmas morning; and the little children are 
gathered in the churches to sing hymns to the 
Christ-child, and make their little prayers that 
they may become like Jesus, pure and holy. 

In the great houses, there are always Christ¬ 
mas trees for the dear children, hung thick with 
sugar plums, and an abundance of those beauti¬ 
ful playthings that are made in the German 
cities. Great baskets are packed full of tea, 
sugar, cakes, bread, and meat, as well as warm 
flannel jackets, and good, strong gowns, to be 
sent to all the poor in the neighborhood. Little 
gifts are also prepared for the village children, 
who often gather in the evening for a dance. 

Holland is a flat country on the coast; and the 
land is so low, that the water from the sea some¬ 
times overflows it for miles, destroying fields, 
houses, and even whole villages. But the peo¬ 
ple build up a sort of wall, called a dike , to 
keep the water back; and unless these dikes 
break down, which sometimes happens, the 
country is safe. 

Holland is the home of the Dutch ; and they 

Where is Germany"? What river runs through it"? 
Where is Cologne water made"? What of Hamburg"? 
What is said’ of Christmas in Germany"? 






















72 


MIDDLE EUROPE. RUSSIA. 


are very fond of sailing and skating. Market 
women often go miles on their skates. Perhaps 
because they have not a very large country at 
home, and because they live so much in sight of 
the sea, the children talk of ships and trading, 
until each boy has a fancy to visit the strange 
lands he hears of, or to trade for himself. In 
this way, many of them become sailors before 
they are twelve years old. 

Amsterdam is a large city, to which many 
of our own vessels go. 

You will see that the River Rhine passes 
through Holland on its way to the sea ; and 
many fine, tall pines are brought down on its 
waters from the Black Forest to make masts 
for Dutch vessels. 

Denmark is a peninsula running north from 
Germany ; and north of Denmark is a long, 
wide strip of land, reaching down from the 
Arctic Ocean, and nearly cut off from the rest 
of Europe by the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of 
Bothnia. This peninsula, beside being cold, is 
very rough and hilly ; for the Dofrafield Moun¬ 
tains run through it from north to south, divid¬ 
ing it into two long, narrow countries called 
Norway and Sweden. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

Where is Switzerland ? 

What countries west of Germany ? What mountains 
in Germany ? 

Where is Hamburg ? Cologne ? The River Rhine ? 

Where is Amsterdam ? The Hague ? Brussels ? Co¬ 
penhagen ? What water west of Holland ? Which way 
is Holland from Switzerland ? 

Where is the Danube ? The Elbe ? 


What kind of country is Holland ? What of the 
people ? Where is Amsterdam ? What is Denmark ? 
Where are Norway and Sweden? 

Lesson X. — Where is Russia ? Is the greater part 


LESSON X. 

RUSSIA. 

We have already gone over quite a number 
of countries ; but there is still nearly half of 
Europe left, and this all belongs to one nation. 
It is called Russia, and is mostly a vast plain, 
with the Arctic Ocean on the north, and Asia 
on the east. 

You can see that the climate of the greater 
part must be very cold, and the rivers often 
frozen. Even the Volga, that great river run¬ 
ning south into the Caspian Sea, is blocked up 
with ice part of the year. Snow is on the 
ground so long, that the Russians use sleighs a 
great deal, instead of carriages ; and the country 
is generally so flat, that they can dash along at 
a swift rate. Wrapped in thick, warm furs, 
and drawn by several horses smoothly over the 
snow, one would not wish a better way of trav¬ 
elling. 

In the south, some parts of this country are 
pleasant, and produce grain of different kinds ; 
but north, toward the Arctic Ocean, it is dreary, 
even in the short summer. The land is so flat, 
that it is often wet and marshy. 

Lou would not expect to find many towns or 
people in such a region; but there are both. 
On a little gulf running up from the Baltic Sea 
is a large, handsome city, which is named St. 
Petersburg, after a great king, or czar as the 
Russians call their ruler. 

Until recently, the Russians were a rough, 
ignorant people, less civilized than the other 
nations of Europe ; but, when this Peter came 


warm or cold ? How do the Russians often travel ? What 
is the climate of the southern part? What is the chief 
city? What is the ruler called? Who built St. Peters¬ 
burg ? 


% 


























RUSSIA. 


to be czar, he determined to im¬ 
prove liis country and people. So 
he went about for several years in 
other countries, studied hard, and 
worked with his own hands, learn¬ 
ing how to make the best ships. 

At last, he went home, and took 
Avith him good workmen, Avho could 
teach his people Iioav to build 
them. 

He adorned his large city Avith 
splendid palaces ; and it Avas called 
St. Petersburg, Avhich means the 
city of Peter. lie also had many 
strong vessels built, changed bad 
habits and fashions for better ones, 
and did indeed improve the Avholc country as 
much as Avas possible for one man. 

The Czar Peter could not have made quite so 
much change in Russia if he had not had such 
poAver over the people. The peasants there are 
called serfs, and, until lately, were slaves to the 
rich OAvners of the land, — bought and sold Avith 
the land they lived on : but they are in better 
condition uoav ; for the present czar has made 
them all free. 

Another large city in Russia is Moscoav. 
When the French armies, under Napoleon Bona¬ 
parte, Avere most successful, they marched into 
Russia at one time as far as Moscoav. It Avas 
a long, dreary march, through the cold Avinter ; 
and the soldiers from pleasant, sunny France 
Avere unused to such Avcather. But Napoleon 
said to them, “ Courage ! once in the city of 
Moscow, you will have houses, food, and a long 
rest for the Avinter.” And so they marched on, 
feeling quite sure of taking the city from the 



What else did Peter the Great do 1 What can you tell 
of another large city ? 

10 


Russians. At last, they came near, all faint, 
cold, and hoping for rest and comfort, only to 
find the city in one great blaze ; for the people 
had set fire to their houses, and fled. Then they 
Avere obliged to turn back, without rest and 
Avithout courage. Day after day they starved 
and froze, dropping down dead in the snow, one 
after another, until, out of all those thousands 
of men, not many lived to get back to France 
again. 

Pile Russians have been fighting lately Avith 
the people called Turks, who live near the 
Black Sea. The French and English both 
thought Russia was quite large and powerful 
enough, and sent soldiers to help the Turks. 
You have probably heard people speak of the 
Crimean War, and of Florence Nightingale, a 
kind lady, Avho Avent out to nurse the sick sol¬ 
diers. The battle-ground was around the for¬ 
tified city of Sevastopol, on the little penin¬ 
sula of Crimea, which runs down into the 
Black Sea. 


What war have the Russians had lately ? 





















































































MI NES OF THE URAL MOUNTAINS AND SIBERIA. 


75 


LESSON XI. 

MINES OF THE URAL MOUNTAINS AND SIBERIA. 

In the east of Russia there is a large river 
called the Volga, running from north to south. 
If we sail down this river for a good many 
miles below Moscow, and land on the east bank, 
we may get into a sledge with four' or six 
horses, grooms to drive them, and a postilion to 
direct the grooms. Thus we may travel east, 
over a great plain called a steppe , for miles and 
miles, through rain and snow, over a flat country. 
At last, however, things begin to change. There 
is no more tiresome level; hills rise higher and 
higher ; and we approach a chain of mountains 
which you may find on your map, running be¬ 
tween Europe and Asia. 

These are the Ural Mountains ; and they are 
of great use to the Russians; for in them are 
mines of iron, copper, &c., and many precious 
stones. Some time ago, only a few huts were 
to be seen there ; and a few serfs and prisoners 
were sent there to work. But now it is very 
different; and in the midst of the dark pine 
woods of the mountain country «are large ma¬ 
chine shops, and contrivances for mining. Rich 
merchants, and even princes, who own these 
mines, not only send out workmen, but some¬ 
times go themselves, to look after their diamonds 
and emeralds ; and so it happens that we shall 
find occasionally, in some wild spot on the bank 
of a beautiful stream, a splendid palace, with 
gardens, hot-houses, and every thing to make one 
forget the deep snows and gloomy forests of the 
Ural Mountains. There is quite a large town, 
called Ekaterinenburg, just in the midst of the 
mines, made up of miners’ huts and factories. 


Lesson XI. — Where is the Volga? What kind of 
country east of it? Where are the Ural Mountains? 


Siberia. —Crossing over this ridge of moun¬ 
tains into Asia, we shall find ourselves in Si¬ 
beria, which is a vast plain, reaching from the 
Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, occupying 
all the northern part of Asia for thousands of 
miles. It is often called Russia in Asia; for 
this, too, belongs to the Russians. 

You may well think that this is not a very 
pleasant country to travel in, much less to live 
in ; and yet there are people who have homes 
here: and even Englishmen and Americans 
sometimes go to this dreary region ; for there is 
always something for men to do everywhere. 
It is not possible to live in the most northern 
part that borders on the Arctic Ocean, it is so 
very cold ; though persons go there from curi¬ 
osity. 

There are three large rivers, the Lena, Obe, 
and Yenesei (you can find them on your map) ; 
but they can be of no use, as they are fro¬ 
zen all the time, at least near their mouths. 
Here, for miles, the snow covers the bare 
ground ; or sometimes a great, black forest of 
pines stretches away over the flat country as far 
as the eye can reach. Toward the south are 
some fields of barley and oats, and little villages 
scattered about; for, as I said, people live even 
here. 

Many of these people are exiles ; for the Rus¬ 
sians make a sort of prison of this dismal region. 
Travellers sometimes meet companies of these 
convicts, or prisoners, walking, chained together, 
as they must do for months before they get to 
the end of their long journey. They will then 
be so far from home, and the road back so 
dreary, that, even if they should try to get away, 
they would most likely perish in the snow. For 


What can you say about them ? What country east 
of the Ural Mountains ? What rivers in Siberia ? 


















76 


THE SANDY PLAINS OF MIDDLE ASIA. 


this reason they are not locked up, but allowed 
to live in little huts of their own, watched over 
somewhat by a few Russian officers, and a gov¬ 
ernor who lives at Tobolsk, which is said to be 
the coldest town on the earth. 

Beside the exiles, there are fur-hunters, who 
spend their lives in the woods ; and a few mer¬ 
chants from other countries, who buy and bring 
home the skins to be made into furs. Hunting 

. o 

is dangerous in Siberia, and the hunters often 
perish from cold or hunger. Sometimes it is 
many days before the animals, hunted for their 
furs, are found ; and men are often buried in 
the snow. The most beautiful furs that la¬ 
dies use come from Siberia, and may well be 
costly. 

One of the finest furs is taken from a small 
animal called the sable. Another costly fur is 
that of a still smaller animal called the ermine. 
This last is found in other countries: but in 
Siberia the skins are more beautiful; for here 
I the hair of the ermine is perfectly white, all 
except the tip of the tail, which is quite black. 
When the skins are used for making 1 muffs, tip¬ 
pets, or trimmings* a number of these black tips 
are tacked about over the white fur, making it 
look as if the skin were naturally spotted with 
black. The marten is also hunted for its fine, 
soft, brown fur. There are two kinds ; but the 
stone-marten is the prettier. The hunters bring 
their skins to the cities, and sell them to the 
traders. Though the Siberian furs are called 
the finest, many are brought from British Amer¬ 
ica, which has become a great fur-hunting region ; 
and we now hear very frequently of American 
or Hudson’s Bay sable. 


What can you tell of the country and people? What 
do we get from Siberia? What animals arc hunted for 
their furs ? 


LESSON XII. 

THE SANDY PLAINS OF MIDDLE ASIA. 

You remember reading about the grand and 
beautiful sights among the Alps, in Europe. 
But here in the great continent of Asia, where 
the mountain chains are so much longer, the 
rivers and forests far larger, the ravines deeper, 
and the torrents stronger, the country is still 
more wild and grand. Here are huge walls of 
rock, all rough and jagged, or split far down to 
where the foaming water rushes through deep 
valleys. Here are great, blue lakes; dark, 
gloomy caves and gorges, in the rocky sides of 
the mountains ; and thick, dark forests. And 
rising above all are the white, snowy tops of 
the Himalayas, the grandest mountains in the 
world. 

The great plain of Siberia is bounded on the 
south by a long chain of mountains running 
from west to east. To any one who has been 
travelling over Siberia, it is a wonderful change 
to come into the midst of the wild country of 
the Altai Mountains : and one must go on horse¬ 
back or on foot; for no wheels can pass through 
the deep valleys, immense forests, and over the 
high cliffs. 

The Altai Mountains make a sort of wall be¬ 
tween Siberia and another great plain, or steppe, 
in the middle part of Asia. This plain is mostly 
a sandy desert; but all around the edge of it, 
within a day s ride of the Altai Mountains on 
the north, or of another ridge of mountains on 
the south, there are great fields of grass. 

On these grassy plains, reaching from the 
foot of the mountains to the sand, live many 
wandering tribes of people called Tartars. By 

Lesson XII. — How does the continent of Asia com¬ 
pare with Europe ? Where are the Altai Mountains ? 
What is found south of the Altai Mountains? 




























THE SANDY PLAINS OF MIDDLE ASIA. 


77 


wandering tribes, we mean those who live in 
tents, and move when their cattle have eaten all 
the grass in one place. A rich chief will have 
several thousand horses, oxen, and sheep, be¬ 
side camels. The flocks are often driven in 
the morning several miles toward the mountains 
to get good grass ; but at night they are brought 
into a large camp, consisting of perhaps a hun¬ 
dred tents, enclosed with stakes. Men and 
dogs are set to watch ; for these wild tribes are 
constantly robbing one another. Attacks are 
usually made in the night: then there is a great 
noise in the camp, — the women shriek; the 
men rush out, and jump on their horses to fol- 
low the robbers ; but sometimes a whole herd 
of cattle dashes away, like a whirlwind, before 
any one can stop it. 

These Tartars live altogether from their 
flocks, and have neither bread nor vegetables ; 
only sometimes a few dates and dried fruits, 
which they buy of people coming from distant 
towns. They prepare milk in various ways; 
and their favorite meat is horseflesh. On fes¬ 
tivals, they eat camel’s flesh, which is more 
costly, as they do not like to kill the useful 
camel. 

The wives and daughters of the greatest chiefs 
milk the cows and goats night and morning, 
instead of having servants to do it for them. 

The summer dress of both men and women 
is made of two or three long, loose, cotton 
gowns ; and they are nobcleauly. In the win¬ 
ter, they all wear furs. 

The plain is covered with grass only around 
the edges. Farther from the mountains there 
is nothing but a vast level of sand. People ride 
on horses, or on camels, which are still better; 


Who are the Tartars ? How do they live ? What is 
the middle part of the great plain ? 


since often a whole day, or even more, passes 
without a sign ot grass or water; and one may 
go over miles without knowing it, the whole 
plain is so exactly alike. Not a rock, not a 
plant, is to be seen anywhere for hours at a time ; 
nothing but sand, — hot, red sand ! Sometimes, 
after riding all day, travellers come to one of 
these camps in a grass field, or else to only a 
little clump of trees, and a spring or well. How 
pleasant it must be, after the long, tiresome ride 
over the burning sand, to see flocks of sheep 
once more grazing on the fresh, green grass, 
and to taste the cool water ! Sand storms often 
happen, and are very dangerous. 

Those Tartars living in the southern border 
of the great plain have some large cities, and 
are more civilized than the other tribes ; living 
in houses, instead of wandering about from 
place to place. Their great city is Lassa, 
where the Grand Lama, or high priest, lives. 
He never leaves his dwelling, but sits cross- 
legged on a cushion, and blesses all who come 
to him. 

The west side of the plain is also shut in by 
mountains. In the eastern part is a large river 
flowing into the Pacific Ocean, called the Amoor ; 
and this country is not so dry and sandy. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

What ocean north of Siberia ? What three rivers flow 
into it? 

What mountains south of Siberia ? 

What desert south of the Altai Mountains ? 

Where is the Amoor River? 

What ocean east of the two great plains of Asia? 

Where is the city of Lassa ? 

In what direction is the Amoor from the Ural Moun¬ 
tains ? 


What storms happen there ? What is the chief city 
of the Tartars ? Where is the Amoor River ? 
























ABOUT CHINA. 


LESSON XIII. 

CHINA. 

From China comes 
the tea we drink. This 
tea is brought here gen¬ 
erally in small boxes, 
and looks like little, 
dark rolls; but, after 
hot water has been 
poured on these rolls, 
you will find them soft¬ 
ened, and spread out 
into notched leaves one 
or two inches long. Now, these are the leaves of 
a plant that grows thousands of miles off, quite 
on the other side of the world, in that country 
which is called China, that you may find in the 
south-east of Asia. 

The people who live there plant whole fields 
of the tea shrubs, and attend to them carefully 
until the leaves are properly grown. They are 
then gathered, and wilted by the heat of an oven ; 
after which they are rolled by the fingers into 
balls, and either roasted again in the oven, or 
dried in the sun, according to the kind of tea 
that is made. The Chinese are very fond of 
tea themselves, and drink it often through the 
day. 

China is one of the oldest countries, and yet 
we know less about it than many others ; for the 
people were never fond of running about, nor 
even of having strangers visit them. Still 
these unsocial Chinese allow a few merchants 
from different countries to trade there, and ex¬ 
change goods with them. In this way we have 


Lesson NIII. — What do we get from China ? How 
is tea prepared ? What do we know of China ? What 
formerly came from there ? 


found out something about them, and have ob¬ 
tained our tea and some other things. 

Long ago, silk was brought from China; 
especially a beautiful kind of silk goods called 
crape, used for dresses and shawls. It was 
called Canton crape, from the name of the city 
where it was made. Fine China or porcelain 
was also first brought from this country; and 
that is why it is called China. 

It is by trading, and learning from one another, 
that nations improve ; and while the Chinese are 
just as they were years ago, other people, who 
have traded more, can now make finer silk and 
china-ware. 

China is a fine, rich country, with a pleasant 
climate, and just hilly enough for a variety of 
products. Beside tea, rice is abundant there, 
and is much used for food. Many useful fruits 
and trees are found there. The camphor and 
cinnamon trees grow in many parts, also rhu¬ 
barb and ginger. 

As the people do not like to go abroad, the 
whole country is very much crowded, and every 
foot of land occupied. Often, indeed, the poorer 
people have their homes in boats on the larfre 

. o 

rivers near the towns, and make a living by 
fishing. The fisherman steps from his boat¬ 
house early in the morning upon a raft, and 
pushes out into a more open part of the river, 
with, strange to say, no fishing-lines nor nets, 
only baskets, and a few great, solemn-looking 
birds. The cormorants , as these birds are 
called, are excellent fishermen, and, diving in 
the water, catch one fish after another with 
their long bills, until the baskets are quite full. 
Then they catch as many as they like for them¬ 
selves, and these are not few ; for they are such 


What kind of country is it 'l Are there many people ? 
What can you tell of their way of fishing ? 
































ABOUT CHINA. 


79 



greedy creatures, that peo¬ 
ple have the habit of say¬ 
ing, u As hungry as a cor¬ 
morant.” Boys are then 
sent to sell the fish in a 
sort of market-place in 
whatever city they live ; 
and there they meet other 
men and boys with poles 
across their shoulders, 
which have baskets at each 
end. In these baskets are 
all kinds of eatables for the 
Chinese, such as fat pup¬ 
pies ; large, fine rats; 
birds’-nests made of gum ; 
and other things that we 
should dislike, but which 
are great delicacies in 
China. 

The manners and ways 
of living of this people are 
very different from ours. They use no forks, 
but put food into their mouths with two little 
rounded sticks, called chop-sticlcs. 

They wear loose gowns and trousers, like 
other Eastern nations ; and shave all the hair 
excepting the top-lock, which, plaited in a long 
cue, hangs down behind. They think it a great 
beauty to have their finger nails long and sharp. 
The shoes of the men are wide and clumsy, 
turned up at the toes ; but the ladies of rich 
and noble families have their poor little feet 
bound up tightly, and the toes turned under 
when they are babies, so that they cannot grow. 
A full-grown woman will have a foot only three 
or four inches long, and is proud of her pretty 
little embroidered shoes. But it is a queer sort 


of pleasure, and a queer sort of beauty too ; for 
beside the pain at first, and afterward the little 
use of her feet, it cannot seem pretty to us to 
see a grown person toddling along like a child. 

The women sleep a good deal, and are very 
ignorant. The boys are sent to school early, 
and are brought up very strictly, according to 
the Chinese notion of right. They always learn 
exactly the same things, and in just the same 
way. They are quite ignorant about other na¬ 
tions and countries; for they think no other 
people are worth knowing. 

The Chinese have more books than the other 
nations in Asia. They are governed by an 
emperor, around whom there is a great deal of 
ceremony and form. 


i 


How do the Chinese eat ? How do they dress ? Have 
they schools and books ? 


What is their government ? 



















80 


ARABIA AND TURKEY. 


The largest cities are Canton, Pekin, and 
Nankin ; and the two great rivers are the Yang- 
tse-Kiang and Hoang-Ho. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

| Where is China ? What water on the east ? 

| Which way is China from Siberia ? 

What two rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean ? 

Where is Canton ? Pekin ? Nankin ? 

I What seas east of China ? 


LESSON XIV. 

ARABIA AND TURKEY. 

Coffee, as well as tea, grows in Asia and 
you will find a country jutting out from the 
south-west corner of the continent, from which 
some of the best coffee comes. 

This country is Arabia, and there is a great 
deal that is interesting to be learned about it. 
A great part of it is desert land, and people 
travel almost wholly in caravans. Many mer¬ 
chants pass through Arabia with spices, gums, 
precious stones, and other costly things that 
come from the East. Camels are much used: 
but Arabia is also famous for beautiful horses, 
with arched necks, and long, slender legs ; and 
they are often sent to other countries. 

There are two kinds of Arabs, — some who 
are civilized, and live in large, handsome cities ; 
and others who dwell in tents, and pass their 
time dashing about over the desert on fiery 
horses, often robbing caravans and killing the 
merchants. 

Long ago, a man called Mahomet was born 
in Arabia, who had a strange notion that God 
had chosen him for a prophet to teach people 
the true religion. At first, nobody would believe 

What are the largest cities and rivers ? 

Lesson XIV. —Where is Arabia? What grows 
there ? What is said of the country ? 


him ; for the Arabs had their gods, or idols, and 
thought it very wicked to say any thing against 
them. So they not only laughed at the new 
prophet, but were very angry, and tried to kill 
him. He fled from the place where he had 
lived, and wandered about for a long time with 
a few friends, living in rocky caverns, where he 
wrote a book which he declared to be the word 
of God. More and more people joined him ; 
and, by persuading and fighting, he succeeded 
in bringing over so many to his way of think¬ 
ing, that what he taught became the religion of 
the country. In time his doctrines spread, so 
that now there are millions of people who wor¬ 
ship one God, whom they call Allah , and one 
prophet, Mahomet, sent by Allah to teach men, 
and give them a book of lessons and prayers 
called the Koran. 

The Mahometans say many prayers, and even 
bad men take great care to be exact in this mat¬ 
ter. There are prayers for the morning and 
evening, and for other occasions; and young 
children are taught to say them. Three times 
a day the priests in the mosques , or churches, 
cry in a loud voice, in every neighborhood, 
“To prayers, to prayers, O true believers!” 
and men, women, and children begin at once to 
recite the prayers of the hour, whether they are 
in the streets or at home. 

The Arabs are a dark-skinned people, with 
dark eyes, and dark, straight hair. They are 
generally slender, and often handsome. They 
wear loose gowns of silk, linen, or cotton, with 
wide trousers gathered around the ankles ; and, 
instead of hats, the men have several yards of 
muslin or linen twisted round their heads, called 
turbans. The women wear close-fitting vests 
with skirts of different colors, and trousers like 

What kind of people are the Arabs ? Who was Ma¬ 
homet ? What is said of the Mahometans ? 









































ARABIA AND TURKEY. . 81 


those of the men. They always wear large, 
thick veils on their heads, which are drawn over 
their faces in the street or before men. It is a 
great disgrace for a lady to show her .face to 
any man except her father or husband. 

Rich men have many wives, instead of one 
as with us, and keep them shut up in a part of 
the house where men never come. These rooms 
for women are called harems , and joined to 
them are beautiful gardens, full of fruit-trees, 
birds, and fountains; but they are surrounded 
by high walls, and have trusty servants to keep 
guard. These wives have many maid-servants, 
so that there are often one or two hundred fe¬ 
males in one house. Women are not respected 
nor treated so well as in Western countries. In 
all the cities, there are slave-markets, where 
beautiful young girls are sold as slaves. 

From Arabia came the Mahometans wdio set¬ 
tled in the north of Africa, and were there 
called Moors, — the same Moors who crossed 
over into Spain. 

The Turks, whom we find in Turkey, — which 
is north of Arabia, partly in Asia, and partly in 
Europe, — are also Mahometans, and live and 
dress pretty much as they do in Arabia. They 
are governed by sultans , or caliphs , and build 
handsome mosques in their cities. 

These people are very fond of flowers, per¬ 
fumes, music, and such pleasures. Even a poor 
man will spend half the little money he makes 
in one day for flowers, sweet-scented waters, 
and wax lights or oil, that he may enjoy better 
his feast at the end of the day’s work. Fortu¬ 
nately, in those places, the climate is so warm, 
that shelter, clothes, and strong meats, are little 
needed, and spices, fruits, and flowers are cheap 
and plentiful. 

IIow do the Arabs dress ? What is said of the women ? 
Where did the Moors come from ? 

11 


There are many beautiful flowers, lilies of 
different kinds, and quantities of roses. Whole 
fields of roses are planted, from which a delight¬ 
ful perfume is made, which I dare say you 
have seen. It comes in little vials, and costs a 
great deal: it is called ottar of roses. 

These Mahometans have no chairs, but sit on 
cushions, and have often three or four more 
cushions to lean upon. When they have seated 
themselves, cross-legged, with their feet tucked 
under them, black slaves spread the food before 
them, light perfumed tapers, and sprinkle sweet- 
scented waters around. These people use no 
knives, but each one dips his hand into the dish, 
and then passes it to his neighbor. If a Turk 
wishes to be very polite to his guest, he puts 
morsels of food into his mouth. Each man 
has a long, queer-looking pipe, and will smoke 
for hours, sitting on his cushions, while his 
slave girls dance to amuse him, or sing, or, best 
of all, teiriong and very wonderful tales. What 
should we think here, to see a grave, gray¬ 
haired man listening to fairy tales ? 

The Turks bathe often, and in all the cities 
there are public baths. 

There are several large, handsome cities in 
Turkey. Constantinople is known all over the 
world: you may find it just where a narrow 
part of the sea separates Europe from Asia. 
Miles away, one can see the high, slender min¬ 
arets , or towers, rising from the mosques, and 
the green tops of trees growing in groves and 
gardens in the midst of the city. Constantino¬ 
ple was built by one of the Roman emperors 
many long years ago. It is a long story to tell 
how it came to belong to the Turks. 

There are two rivers running into the Persian 

What is said of the Turks ? What is ottar of roses"? 
How do the Mahometans eat 1 ? What is said of their 
cities ? 










82 


PERSIA AND PALESTINE. 



Gulf, called the Tigris and Euphrates, which 
you must remember. 

Near the River Tigris are two large cities, -— 
Bagdad and Bassora. A city called Damascus 
is a stopping-place for caravans ; and the people 
here were once rich in all sorts of splendid 
goods, especially heavy, embroidered satin called 
tapestry. This was used in Europe, many years 
ago, to hang on the Avails of rooms in large 
houses. 


LESSON XV. 

PERSIA AND PALESTINE. 

East of Turkey, there is a country called Per¬ 
sia. We hear very little of it in these days; 
but, long ago, the Persians were a very poAverful 
people. They had fine, rich cities ; and some 


of their kings raised large armies, 
and conquered all the nations near 
them. The Persians fought very 
often with the Mahometans, who 
hated them because they Avould 
not believe in Mahomet and his 
religion. 

They worshipped fire as a god, 
and built stone altars on the hills 
places. The sacred fires 
burning on these altars were 
watched by priests day and night, 
so that they might never go out. 
Other nations called these Per¬ 
sians jire-wor shippers. 

The Persians in our day wear 
loose robes, and are much like 
other Eastern nations. 

They have always made a great deal of silk, 
and many precious stones are found in their 
country. 

Much of the land is barren and desert-like ; 
but there are beautiful, rich valleys in different 
parts, Avhere many delicious fruits groAv, espe¬ 
cially melons. 

Persia is famous for its beautiful fioAvers. 
Hyacinths and various other bulbous plants 
groAv wild. There are large gardens of roses, 
which are planted to make the perfume Ave call 
ottar of roses. 

The Holy Land. — North of Arabia, there 
is a narrow strip of land along the Mediterra¬ 
nean Sea. This is Palestine, or the Holy Land, 
and Avas the country of the Jews. 

There Moses led the people of God up from 
Egypt, after they had crossed the Red Sea. 

David Avas king there; and after him his 




Lesson XV.-What country cast of Turkey? Were them? What of the Persians of our time ? What flowers 
the I ersians ever a great people ? What is said of | grow there ? What do we call the Holy Land 1 Why ? 












































INDIA, OR HINDOSTAN. 


83 


son Solomon, who built the great Temple. 
There is the city of Jerusalem, and the little 
town, Nazareth, where Jesus lived. You may 
find also the River Jordan, that is so often 
spoken of in the Bible; and the Dead Sea, 
whose water is so bitter and salt, that fishes can¬ 
not live in it. 

After Christ was crucified by those Jews 
who did not believe in him, his disciples went 
about teaching his word to other nations. But, 
while many nations were becoming Christians, 
the Jews were conquered, and driven from Pal¬ 
estine, which at last belonged to the Mahomet¬ 
ans. After a long time, the Christians in 
Europe thought it a shame that the Holy City 
should belong to infidels, and went over in great 
armies to take it from the Mahometans. There 
are many stories about these long wars, which 
were called crusades , or wars of the cross. 

But the crusaders did not recover Palestine, 
and it still belongs to the Mahometans. 


LESSON XVI. 

INDIA, OR HINDOSTAN. 

There is one more country in Asia that you 
must learn something about. Look on your 
map at the southern part of the continent, and 
you will find a three-cornered tract of land run¬ 
ning into the Indian Ocean, and bordered on 
the north by the Himalaya Mountains. 

If we should sail along its east coast through 
the Bay of Bengal until we reach the north-east 
corner, and then turn up a river, we should 
presently land at a large city called Calcutta. 

Here, in the midst of these Eastern countries, 

What river in Palestine? What sea? What became 
of the Jews ? What were the crusades ? 

Lesson XVI. — Where is India ? What other name 
has it ? 


with the dark-skinned, loosely-clothed people, 
you will be astonished to see plenty of soldiers’ 
coats, white linen trousers, straw hats, and j 
home-like faces; and also fine, large, white 1 
houses, with Venetian blinds, and long verandas, I 
or piazzas. 

For a moment, we might almost think we j 
were again in England or America; but there I 
are strange sights enough to bring us back to 
Asia, — clumps of cocoanut-trees, rows of little 
mud huts, dark-colored people in tawdry silk or 
white cotton garments. Standing at the corners 
of the streets are wild, miserable-looking crea¬ 
tures, nearly naked, with their faces painted 
white or yellow, and their long hair and beard 
straggling down. These men shriek out curses 
or prayers as they stretch out their long, bony 
hands to beg for money. Along the sidewalks 
are tradesmen, squatted down in the midst of the 
wares they sell; and here and there a juggler is 
amusing a crowd of boys by turning summer- 
sets, and playing all sorts of tricks. Queer¬ 
looking, long boxes are carried through the 
streets by men holding on to a pole at each end. 
These are carriages that people ride about in, 
and are called palanquins. 

But how came the town so full of English 

© 

faces and English houses off here, quite on the 
other side of the earth? It is a long story to 
tell how the English first began to trade here 
years ago, and are now masters of the country, 
and have every thing their own way. 

'Every year, many persons go from England 
to India to make money. Whole troops of sol¬ 
diers are sent out, and many of the officers and 
merchants take their wives with them ; but the 
climate is hot and unhealthful, so that children 

What large city in India? What is said of the city and 
people ? What are palanquins ? Why are there so many 
English in India ? 


























84 


INDIA, OR HINDOSTAN. MAP QUESTIONS. 


are almost always kept in England until they 
grow up, to prevent them from dying with fever. 

The native Indians, or Hindoos, are generally 
ignorant, dirty creatures; but long ago they 
were a great nation, and the men of their 
highest class, called brahmins , are still famous 
for their learning, and have some of the oldest 
books in the world. 

You will know, as India is near the equator, 
that the climate is hot. Much of the country is 
very wild, and covered with thickets of brush¬ 
wood, called jungles. These jungles are damp 
and unhealthful, and are filled with troublesome 
insects, and numbers of poisonous serpents, 
whose bite will kill a man in a few moments. 
There are beside large, fine fields of rice and in¬ 
digo, and various other useful things grow there. 

The high tops of the Himalaya Mountains 
are always covered with snow. From their 
sides many streams rush down, — some of them 
large rivers, and some of them torrents pouring 
through the mountain gorges in foaming water¬ 
falls. 

South of these mountains, there is a wide, rich 
valley, or plain, with a largo river running 
through it from west to east. This river, Gan¬ 
ges, is called the holy river by the Hindoos, 
who are pagans, and worship horrible idols of 
wood and stone. They think it a great glory 
to die in the Ganges ; arid poor, sick creatures 
will crawl miles to throw themselves into its 
waters. They often cut their flesh, burn their 
limbs, and even kill themselves or their chil¬ 
dren. 

Beside the rice, indigo, and gums that we 
get from India, the silk-worms furnish great 
quantities of silk thread ; and in the mountain 
country are pastured the Cashmere goats, from 

What kind of people are the Hindoos'? What arc 
jungles? What is said of the Himalaya Mountains? 


whose hair are made the finest shawls in the 
world. The Hindoos always make very fine, 
thin muslin, used for some of our prettiest 
dresses. 

Perhaps the strangest things in India, to one 
who goes there for the first time, are the huge 
elephants. They are used instead of horses or 
camels, and every day people ride about, perched 
high upon the backs of these great creatures. 
The men avIio manage the elephants know their 
ways, and are not afraid of them; but they 
often do great harm. 

Some of the finest diamonds in the world 
come from India, and here are the great dia¬ 
mond mines of Golconda. Hundreds of slaves 
are kept all their lives digging and washing and 
sifting the earth in search of these precious 
stones. 

Diamonds are of all colors, but often pale- 
pink or yellow ; and those without any color are 
most valued. They glitter and . sparkle bril¬ 
liantly, and the rare ones cost thousands of dol¬ 
lars. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

Where is India ? What mountains north of it? 

What sea Avest ? What bay east ? What ocean south ? 

What river runs cast into the Bay of Bengal ? 

Where is Calcutta ? Where is Golconda ? Bombay ? 

Which way is India from China ? Erom Arabia? 

What waters must one sail over in going from Bagdad 
to Calcutta ? 


LESSON XVII. 

QUESTIONS ON THE MAP OF EUROPE. 

What waters touch Europe? 

Which side has no sea-coast ? What sea south ? 

What gulfs and bays are made by the Atlantic Ocean ? 

What of the Ganges ? What do we get from India ? i 
What can you tell of the elephants ? What of the dia¬ 
mond mines? 

























MAP QUESTIONS. ABOUT EGYPT. 


85 


What ones by the Mediterranean Sea ? 

Where is the Black Sea 1 ? The Caspian ? The Baltic ? 

Where is the Bay of Biscay ? 

Where are the British Islands ? 

What water between England and Europe ? 

What countries in Europe are nearest England ? 

What large country in the east of Europe ? 

What countries run down into the Mediterranean 
Sea ? 

What two countries in the north-west ? 

Where are the Straits of Gibraltar ? Straits of Dover ? 

What parts of Europe are mountainous ? 

Where arc the Alps ? The Pyrenees ? The Apen¬ 
nines ? 

Where is the River Danube ? Volga 1 ? Po ? Rhine ? 
Elbe? 

Which is the greatest city of England ? On what river 
is it ? 

Where is Edinburgh? Dublin? What great city in 
Franee ? 

What ocean north of Russia ? What seas touch it ? 

What mountains on the east ? What large river runs 
south ? 

What sea does the Volga flow into? Where is the 
Gulf of Finland ? 

What city on this gulf ? Where is Moscow ? Sebas¬ 
topol ? 

Where is Turkey ? What country south of Turkey ? 

Where is Germany ? What country west of Germany ? 

Where is the city of Rome ? Venice ? Naples ? 

What island south of Italy? 

What waters must one pass through in sailing from 
London to Rome ? How can one go from Liverpool to 
Constantinople ? 

Where is Holland ? What water touches it ? 

AVhere is the city of Madrid ? Lisbon ? 

What waters touch Spain and France? 


LESSON XVIII. 

QUESTIONS ON THE MAP OF ASIA. 

What ocean north of Asia ? What ocean east ? 

What ocean south ? What gulfs or seas around Asia ? 
What large islands cast of Asia? What ones south¬ 
east ? 

What large sea west of Asia? What mountains run 


east and west ? What mountains between Europe and 
Asia ? 

What three rivers run north ? What three flow east ? 

Where is the Ganges ? AVhere are the Tigris and Eu¬ 
phrates ? 

AVhat large country in the north of Asia? AVhere is 
the Great Desert? AVhere is China? India? Arabia? 

AVhat country north-west of Arabia ? AVhich is the 
largest city in Turkey ? AVhere is Damascus ? 

Where is Mocha? AVhere is Calcutta? What large 
cities in China ? AVhere is Tobolsk ? 


LESSON XIX. 

ABOUT EGYPT. 

I am sure some of you know the story of 
Joseph and his brothers which is told in the 
Bible ; how he was sold, and went with his 
master down into a land called Egypt. Only a 
few lessons back, you learned where Palestine 
is, which was Joseph’s country, and was called 
Canaan in those days. You will think, there¬ 
fore, that Egypt must be near Palestine ; and 
there you will find it, a little to the south-west, 
just in that corner of Africa that joins Asia. 
By the side of it is the Red Sea, that the 
Israelites crossed long after Joseph was dead, 
and where King Pharaoh and his Egyptians 
were drowned in trying to follow them. 

Egypt is one of the oldest countries in the 
world; that is, the people had large cities, 
fields, and roads long before our Bible was 
written, and when most of the nations of the 
earth were wild and savage. 

We know more about the old times in Egypt j 
than in other countries, because the people had a 
ihabit of writing every thing that happened on the 
inside walls of their temples and palaces, and 


Lessox XIX. — AVhere is Egypt ? AVhat is said of it ? 
Why do we know so much about it? 




































CAPX OF GOOD HOPE. 























































ABOUT EGYPT. 


on the tombs of their kings. As many of these 
ruins are still found, some standing, and some 
buried in the ground, scholars who know the 
Egyptian language can read now what was 
written hundreds of years ago. 

Their way of writing was not like ours. 
They had strange-looking figures for letters, 
and represented many things by pictures; so 
that now, after all these years, there are often 
found, painted on the tomb of a king, the 
battles which he fought. Sometimes people, 
dressed differently from the Egyptians, are 
painted running away, showing that they were 
beaten in the battle. By these pictures we have 
learned how they used to live and dress, and 
what sort of carriages and arms they used. 

Beside this, we are told a good deal about 
them in the Bible. 

Egypt is not a large country, and the part 
which contains the great cities and the cultivated 
region is a long valley in the middle, where the 
River Nile flows. 

You have already learned how this river 
overflows its banks every year, and waters the 
country where there is no rain. This happens 
from August to October ; and then the valley is 
like a lake, with the cities rising out of it. 

There are no forests in Egypt, and the only 
large trees are the date-palm and the sycamore. 
In the shallow waters of the canals, there are 
many water-plants. One of these, called the 
lotus , is a kind of lily, and has beautiful, blue 
and white flowers, and a large root, something 
like an onion, which the people eat, either 
roasting it, or drying and pounding it to a kind 
of flour, of which cakes are made. The green 
tops are also cooked and eaten. Another plant, 
very useful to the old Egyptians, was a sort of 

What kind of writing had the old Egyptians ? What 
do we learn from it ? What river in Egypt 1 


reed on the banks of the Nile, that was made 
into paper; the only kind they had. It was 
called 'papyrus ; and large rolls of it have been 
found, covered Avith Avriting. 

Thebes and Memphis were two great cities, 
but are novv in ruins. The most wonderful 
works of the old Egyptians are the pyramids. 
These are huge, pointed, stone buildings, in the 
midst of a great, bare plain, which seem to have 
been used as tombs of kings, and which remain 
nearly perfect after all these years. In all the 
world, there is nothing else like them. 

The people who now live in Egypt are Ma¬ 
hometans, and dress and live like the Turks and 
Arabians. In Cairo we shall find the same 
narrow streets, and bearded, turbaned men, and 
hear the same call to prayer from the mosques, 
as in other Eastern cities. 

What should we think to see our ladies going 
shopping on asses? Yet this is the common 
way of getting about; and we shall meet both 
men and women gravely seated on these small 
animals, Avhile servants go before to clear a 
Avay through the crowded street, crying aloud, 
“ Take care, 0 uncle ! ” “ To the right! ” 

“ To the left! ” “ Thy foot, O my daughter ! ” 

Strangers are surprised to see children so dirty, 
and poorly clad : even those led by richly dressed 
mothers are mrvvashed, uncombed, and often 
ragged. This is not because they are neglected, 
as Ave might suppose, but quite the contrary. 
Mothers are very proud of their children, and 
are constantly afraid that some envious person 
may bewitch their darlings with the “evil eye” 
if they should look too pretty. Therefore they 
never u dress them up ” to go out. Beside the 
dirt and rags, many of the children have sore 

What trees grow in Egypt? For what is the lotus 
used ? What Avas papyrus ? What strange buildings in 
Egypt 1 What is said of the people now in Egypt ? 





















88 


OTHER COUNTRIES OF AFRICA. 


eyes, which are very common in Egypt; so that 
no one would ever stop a nurse to say, “What a 
sweet little creature ! ” 

Girls are sometimes taught at home to repeat 
prayers, sing, dance, and embroider ; but only 
boys go to school. The little fellows, in their 
long gowns and white skull-caps,'sit cross- 
legged upon mats or cushions, and study their 
lessons from slates. When one lesson is learned 
perfectly, the master rubs it out, and writes 
another in its place. 

Not only sweetmeats and fruits are carried 
about the streets to sell, but also water in large 
skins, or leather bottles, which are swung in 
pairs either over the back of a donkey or a man’s 
shoulders. The houses have wells or cisterns : 
but, for drinking, people like the clear, fresh 
water from the River Nile; and the water- 
carriers stop at door after door to fill one or 
more earthenware pots for the day. From time 
to time, there are great processions or merry¬ 
makings of some kind, with music, drums, 
torches, and shouting. A wedding sometimes 
lasts for several days. Except in the cities, 
there are no handsome houses. The country 
people, who till the land, are not well governed, 
and live in miserable hovels, which are gathered 
in small villages wherever there is a mound high 
enough to keep out the water when the Nile 
overflows its banks. 

North Africa.—W e generally think of 
Africa as the home of ignorant negroes ; but 
there were long ago handsome cities, the chief 
of which was Carthage, all along the north 
coast, on the Mediterranean Sea. The people 
were civilized, and had books and schools, 
while many nations of Europe were wild and 
ignorant. The Moors lived there, you will 

What of the schools ? Of water-carriers ? What do 
we know of the northern part of Africa ? 


remember, when some of them went into 
Spain. That country still belongs to Mahom¬ 
etans, and is divided into States, called the 
Barbary States, each with its own ruler. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

Where is Egypt ? What sea on the north ? 

What sea on the east? What river flows through 
Egypt ? 

Where is the city of Alexandria ? Cairo ? 

In what direction is Egypt from England ? 


LESSON XX. 

OTHER COUNTRIES OF AFRICA. 

You must remember that the countries of 
which we have spoken make only a small part 
of Africa. There are many thousands of miles 
of which we have said nothing; and, in fact, 
there is no continent so little known. Bold, rest¬ 
less men, who have nothing else to do, some¬ 
times travel in these places, that they may hunt 
the wild animals ; and preachers, or missionaries, 
are sent by the churches iu Christian countries 
to teach the negroes our religion, and to im¬ 
prove them if possible. 

South of the Barbary States, there is a vast 
sandy desert. It is the largest in the world, 
and is called the Great Desert. You know 
already how merchants travel across deserts, 
with camels, in large caravans. 

A caravan with a hundred or more camels 
and horses is a pleasant sight. The camels 
are piled up high with costly loads ; and their 
owners, in the rich robes and turbans of the 
Mahometans, are mounted on beautiful Arabian 
horses. These caravans come from Egypt, vis¬ 
iting the cities of North Africa, and the villages 

Lesson XX. What is said of the greater part of 
Africa ? What is south of the Barbary States ? 




































OTHER COUNTRIES OF AFRICA. 


89 


in the oases of the desert. Sometimes large 
caravans come all the way from the Arabian 
cities into the African desert, exchanging goods 
with other caravans, or with the black tribes 
they find on its borders, and return home after 
a journey of two or three years. After travel¬ 
ling all day over the hot sand, the merchants 
are glad when they can find a little patch of grass 
and trees where they may rest, smoking their 
long pipes, and listening to wonderful tales of 
strange lands and people, or still more wonderful 
tales of magicians and fairies. 

Beside the. inland deserts, there are rich, 
sloping countries all along the east and west 
coasts. These are watered by many short 
rivers running into the ocean ; and many parts 
are covered by thick forests of large trees and 
twining plants, some useful for food, and some 
for dyes or medicines. 

In these countries, where the climate is hot, 
and unhealthful for strangers, there live hun¬ 
dreds of negro tribes, each with its own chief, 
or king, and its own language. The negroes 
have never learned to build cities or vessels ; 
and have neither schools, books, churches, nor 
factories. They are still ignorant and savage, 
and live in little huts of mud, or in caves. Some 
of the best and most sensible tribes know how 
to make coarse cotton cloth, and jars or pots 
of clay. Most of the negro women weave bas¬ 
kets and mats of palm leaves and willow twigs. 
The men live by hunting and fishing, and, in¬ 
deed, do nothing else: for, if.a little grain is 
planted, the women do all the digging, as well 
as the weaving and cooking; for they are con¬ 
sidered only as slaves. 

These tribes often fight with each other; and 


What is said of caravans ? What kind of countries 
along the east and west coasts'? What of the negroes? 
12 


those who live near the coast sell their prisoners 
to white men, who go there, and carry them to 
other countries as slaves. Some tribes even 
have the horrible habit of eating their prison¬ 
ers ; and such men are called cannibals. 

The negroes hunt elephants for their tusks, or 
long side teeth, which they send to the coast to 
sell to the white people who go there for them. 
It is from these tusks that our ivory articles are 
made ; and therefore they are worth a great 
deal of money in our countries : but traders only 
give the negroes glass beads, a little calico, and 
other trifles for them ; which is a fair bargain, 
for the ivory is of no use to the negroes, while 
they are delighted to get what seems very 
trifling to us. 

A few persons who have gone far inland, 
south of the Great Desert, have found the 
country rich and very beautiful; and they say 
that the tribes there seem less savage than 
others, and more willing to trade with the white 
people and learn from them. 

On the west coast there is a country called 
Liberia, where people in America have sent 
freed negroes, and given to each a bit of ground 
to cultivate, hoping that they would improve 
themselves, and help to civilize the ignorant 
negroes in the neighborhood. Missionaries have 
gone there to live, and have formed schools and 
churches for them. They have made consid¬ 
erable progress, and have now a government 
something like ours. 

The southern point of Africa is called Cape 
Colony, and is settled by the English. As the 
Cape of Good Hope is half-way on the long 
voyage to India, many vessels stop there going 
and coming. 


What of the tribes far inland ? What of Liberia ? What 
of Cape Colony ? 




















90 


MAP QUESTIONS. 


HOW AMERICA WAS FOUND. 


LESSON XXI. 

QUESTIONS ON THE MAP OF AFRICA. 

W hat sea north of Africa ? What ocean east ? West ? 
What country in the north-east of Africa ? 

What country in Asia is near Egypt ? 

What sea between Egypt and Arabia ? 

What river flows through Egypt ? Into what sea does 
it flow ? 

Where is the Niger ? What gulf west of Africa ? 
Where is Liberia ? 

What cape south of Africa ? 

What groups of small islands north-west of Africa ? 
Where is the Strait of Gibraltar ? 

What waters must one cross in sailing from Egypt to 
Liberia ? 

What part of Africa is desert? 

Which way is Africa from Europe? From Asia? 
Which way is Egypt from Greece ? 


LESSON XXII. 

HOW AMERICA WAS FOUND. 

Some hundreds of years ago, when the na¬ 
tions of Europe were already civilized, and had 
towns with churches and schools, they did not 
know that there was another continent on the 
other side of the world ; nor even that the world 
was round, and had another side. 

But some men, here and there, began to have 
such ideas. One of these was a sailor, named 
Christopher Columbus. He had sailed wher¬ 
ever people went in those days ; that is, along 
the coasts of Europe and Africa. 

The East Indies, whence were brought car¬ 
goes of spices and other things that were sold 
for large sums of money, were the most distant 
countries visited then. The journeys were so 

Lesson NXII. — Why did people first think of try¬ 
ing to sail from Europe across the Atlantic ? Who wished 
to try ? How did he get vessels and men ? What land 
did they find ? 


long and costly, that the merchants could not 
buy and sell as fast as they wished. 

Columbus thought, that, if the earth were 
round, he could sail directly west across the At¬ 
lantic Ocean, and certainly come at last to the 
Indies ; an$ so he would, if America had not 
been just in the way. 

But Columbus had no ships of his own ; and 
rich people thought his notion so silly, that they 
would not help him. 

At last, Queen Isabella of Spain gave him 
three little vessels, and he sailed on his voyage. 
On, on, they sailed, days and nights ; and the 
sailors were frightened at being so far from 
home ; but at last they came in sight of land, 
which they supposed to be the Indies. 

They soon found themselves in the midst of 
islands, but quite different from those they ex¬ 
pected to reach ; and these islands have ever 
since been called the West Indies, as the others 
were called the East Indies. 

When Columbus went back to Spain, and told 
the great news that they had found other lands, 
the Spaniards were delighted, and began to send 
out vessels full of people to occupy these new 
lands, where it was so warm and pleasant. 

They came in parties under different leaders, 
and sailed about in the Caribbean Sea, — some 
landing in South America, and some in that 
part of North America which is called Mexico. 
One of the captains who first landed on the con¬ 
tinent was Amerigo Vespucci, and it was named 
America from him ; but many people think it 
should have been called after Columbus. 

In most of these places, they found the coun¬ 
try covered with thick forests, where no axe 

What happened when Columbus went home ? Why 
was the new continent called America ? Why is it some¬ 
times called Columbia? What did the Spaniards find 
here ? 







































HOW AMERICA WAS FOUND. 


91 


had been, where there were no roads or paths 
except those the wild deer had made, and no 
houses but huts of bark or skin. The people 
they saw were nearly naked, copper-colored, 
and speaking a language the Spaniards had 
never heard. As they had at first called the laud 
India, they called these people Indians ; and so 
they are still called. 

But in two places, that is, in Mexico in North 
America, and Peru in South America, they 
found cities, and people living in them who 
could make cloth and vessels of different kinds, 
and work in gold and silver. 

The Spaniards Avere so crazy at the sight of 
this gold, that they thought only of getting 
Avhat they could. They soon began fighting the 
Indians, and driving them off. They claimed 
the country for Spain, and more and more peo¬ 
ple came over and made settlements. Soon 
thousands of Avhite men Avere busy, digging gold 
and silver from the rich mines in the Andes. 

The Dutch and English began to think it 
would neA er do to let the Spaniards have all the 
NeAv World, and their kings sent out vessels to 
claim land for them also. The English \ r essels 
sailed farther north, and landed on the east 
coast of North America, Avhere they found 
neither a pleasant country nor gold. They 
tried several times ; but it was many years be¬ 
fore any settlements Avere made. At last, a 
party of Englishmen landed about half Avay 
doAvn the coast, and called the place Virginia. 
They did not find gold, but rich lands Avhere 
tobacco would grow, and great forests. Tavo 
years later, a Dutch vessel sailed up the Hudson 
Iliver, and settlements were soon made there by 

Why did they call the natives Indians ? What two 
places were different from the rest ? Why did the Span¬ 
iards stay there ? Who sailed to North America ? Where 
did the English first land? Where did the Dutch settle? | 


the Dutch. Another settlement Avas made far¬ 
ther north, in Massachusetts, by the Pilgrims, 
who left England because they could not have 
their religious freedom. This Avas called the 
Plymouth Colony. 

A colony is any settlement in a strange land 
by a company of persons from some distant na¬ 
tion. For a long time, those early settlements 
in North America Avere called English colonies ; 
and those of South America, Spanish colonies. 

Though they had great trouble and suffer¬ 
ing from hunger and cold, and much fighting 
Avith the Indians, the North-American colonies 
greAv larger, the people built more comfortable 
houses than the rough cabins they had at first, 
and more persons came from England every 
year. NeAv settlements Avere made, until they 
reached all along the strip of land on the coast 
between the ocean and the Alleghany Moun¬ 
tains. 

Each settlement Avas ruled by a governor sent 
from England. But, after some years, the people 
in the colonies did not like this go\ r ernment; for 
they had to pay the king a good deal of money, 
and could not manage their affairs in their oavii 
Avay. After great trouble, they determined that 
they AA r ould have no more rulers from England, 
but Avould be a nation to themselves, and ha\e 
nothing more to do Avith the king. Au army 
of soldiers Avas sent over from England, and 
! fought with the people in the colonies for several 
years. The colonists gained at last, and formed 
a neAv nation, called the American nation. 

These colonies agreed to join together and 
become the United States, having one ruler 


Where did the Pilgrims land ? What is a colony ? 
What is said of the North-American colonies ? How Avere 
they gOA r erned ? What difficulty did they have Avith Eng¬ 
land ? What happened at last ? Who was our first Pres- 
|ident ? 



















HOW AMERICA WAS FOUND. SOUTH AMERICA. 


over all, called a President; and they chose for 
their first president George Washington, who 
had been their leader in the war. 

The first States were those along the Atlantic 
coast; but, after the war, many people came to 
America from other parts of the world, and 
crossed the mountains to find more land, and 
other States were made, until now the United 
States of America reach from the St. Lawrence 
River to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the At¬ 
lantic Ocean to the Pacific. 

The President, with those who help him gov¬ 
ern, lives in the city of Washington, on the 
Potomac River. 

Each State has also its own governor and 
laws. 

The city in each State where the governor 
lives, and where the laws are made, is called 
the Capital; and the building in which the men 
who are chosen to make the laws meet together 
is called the State House , or Capitol. 

The English still own all the northern part 
of North America, except the north-west corner, 
which was settled by the Russians, and Green¬ 
land, which belongs to Denmark. 

The Spanish colonies in South America also 
fought with Spain, and became free States, with 
presidents ; and the people there whose great- 
great-grandfathers came from Spain speak 
Spanish, just as we speak English. 

Mexico is an independent country; but the 
Mexicans are also descended from the Span¬ 
iards. 

A large country in South America was set¬ 
tled by the Portuguese, and is called Brazil. 


What States were then settled ? Where does the Presi¬ 
dent live ? What is the capital of a State ? What part of 
North America do the English still own ? What became 
of the Spanish colonies in America? What is Mexico? 
Where did the Portuguese settle in the New World ? 


LESSON XXIII. 

SOUTH AMERICA. 

Brazil is a large empire, containing the beau¬ 
tiful Amazon valley. It has a pleasant climate, 
and many fields of coffee and sugar-cane, beside 
rich diamond and gold mines. 

In the north of South America are a number 
of States, near the equator, where trees and 
plants are green all the year. There are several 
large cities, and many small towns. Near the 
mountain ridges are thick forests, twined with 
flowering vines. Throughout the country are 
broad, green fields of sugar-cane, plantations of 
coffee, groves of orange trees, and great patches 
of pineapples and bananas. As there is no 
winter, the leaves do not all fall off, and there 
are ripe oranges all the time. If you have ever 
seen the little plants that are kept in hot-houses, 
and bear a few oranges, you can think how 
beautiful are large trees with quantities of gold¬ 
en fruit, and rich clusters of white flowers that 
make the air sweet all around. 

And you would like to 
see coffee growing ; for the 
bushes are very beautiful. 

They are as large as small 
plum trees, and have leaves 
of dark, shining green, and 
white flowers. The fruit is 
a soft, red berry, which con¬ 
tains two hard grains, the 
flat sides of which fit togeth- 
er, and make it round. These berries are gath¬ 
ered in deep baskets, and carried to a great stone 
pavement, where the red, juicy part of the berry 
is rubbed off, and then the hard grains are spread 

Lesson XXIII. —Where is Brazil? What is said 
of the States in the northern part of South America? 

I How docs coffee grow ? 




































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C.ST BQ^UE 


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V ALPARA 160 


BUENOS AXRES®\S<f 




St o^^MjigellaiL 


TERRA DEL FUEGO 


CAPE HORN 



































94 


SOUTH AMERICA. 


out to dry. V hen dried, they are put in sacks, 
and sent to some coast town, where vessels are 
ready to take them to other countries. Very 
good coffee is sent from a little town on the 
north coast called La G-uayra ; but much of the 
coffee used in our country comes from Rio 
Janeiro, a large city on the coast of Brazil, and 
the chief seaport of South America. 

In old times, there was a great deal of silver 
sent from mines in the north-west of South 
America, among the Andes; and these mines 
ai e still worked. There are several large cities 
high up in the mountain valleys, or on the table 
lands. Quito is one of the largest of these. 

Peru, one of the largest States, is partly 
among the mountains. Lima is a handsome 
j city; and in Peru are the ruins of those won¬ 
derful cities found by the early Spanish settlers. 
\ alparaiso is the chief seaport on the western 
coast. Buenos Ayres is near the mouth of the La 
Plata River, and exports great quantities of hides 
and wool, which are brought from the pampas. 

In almost all the cities of South America, 
a sti anger would be surprised to find so many 
chinches partly in ruins. This is because of 
the earthquakes, by which in a moment stroim 
w alls arc thrown down, and often many people 
crushed to death. Some years ago, there was a 
terrible earthquake at Caraccas, a large city 
quite high up in the mountains, a few miles 
from the coast town La Guayra. 

The people of South America are mostly 
Catholics, and have many festivals, or holy 
days, when the priests go in long processions 
through the streets, carrying the images, and 
followed by the people bareheaded, repeating 
prayers. I he shops are closed, garlands hung 
at the windows and doors, small palm-trees 

Where does much of our coffee come from ? What j 
mines in the Andes ! What of the cities ? What of j 


planted along the streets, and flowers scattered 
for the priests to walk on. There are great 
numbers of priests : some are never seen ; but 
others w r alk the streets every day, dressed in 
black cloaks with long capes, and very wide- 
brimmed black hats. Another class of priests 
wear loose, coarse, brown gowns, made with a 
hood, and tied round the waist with a rope, and 
have neither hats nor shoes. There are large 
houses in most of the cities, called convents , 
where women go to be nuns. 

1 atagonia is the name of the long strip of 
land that slopes to the south. It is a desolate, 
barren country, with a few scattered tribes of 
savages, who suffer from cold and hunger. It 
is dangerous to sail around Cape Horn, because 
of the icebergs that float in the waters of the 
Southern Ocean. The cape does not reach far 
enough south to be in the midst of them : but 
sometimes one floats northward ; and, if it is 
night, a ship passing by may be crushed in a 
moment. Cape Horn is not a part of the main 
land, but the extremity of the island Terra del 
Fuego, which is separated from Patagonia by 
the Straits of Magellan. 


LESSON XXIV. 

Questions on the map of south America. 

What sea north of South America? 

What ocean east ? What one west ? South ? 

What mountains along the west coast? The east 
coast ? 

V here is Brazil ? Peru ? Patagonia? Cape Horn f 
A hat island south of Patagonia ? 

Name the cities. Where are they ? 

Name the rivers. Where are they ? 

Where are the llanos ? The pampas ? The selvas ? 

leiu 7 What of earthquakes ? What of the religion of 
the country ? What country in the South ? 














































































96 


NORTH AMERICA. 


lesson xnv. 

NORTH AMERICA. 

As this is our home, we Avish to learn all we 
can about it, and to remember all that we learn. 
Beside being our home, it is one of the largest 
and finest of the continents. You see that the 
land is longest from North to South, and lies in 
every zone. In this way it has every climate 
from very cold to very hot, so that it produces 
many kinds of useful plants. There are hot 
lands in the Stiuth for cotton, sugar, and rice. 
There are temperate lauds for wheat, corn, hay, 
fruits, and forest trees, — such as hickory, ash, 
beech, walnut, cherry, oak, and others, which 
furnish hard wood for planks, houses, furniture, 
and boats. Farther north arc pine woods and 
fur-covered animals. 

BRITISH AMERICA. 

I lie best part of the continent belongs to the 
| Americans, though the English have a large 
country called British America, comprising 
nearly all the northern part. This is generally 
so cold and dreary, that it is thinly settled. 

The Mackenzie River runs through British 
America to the Arctic Ocean, and several 
others flow into the great Hudson’s Bay. There 
are neither towns, nor roads, nor steamboats on 
the waters ; but there are some strong forts on 
Hudson’s Bay, with cabins near, where the men 
live who go there to buy furs from the Indian 
or white hunters. They keep powder and shot, 
blankets, beads, knives, and such things, to give 
in exchange for the skins. These skins They 
send off by the St. Lawrence River to be sold 
and made into furs. 

Along the St. Lawrence is quite a different 

Lesson XXV.- Why should North America be rieh 
and well peopled? What part belongs to England ? 


sort of country, called Canada, the best of the 
English possessions. This is far enough to the 
south to be somewhat pleasant, though the win¬ 
ters are long and the snows deep. 

There are some large cities on the St. Law¬ 
rence, and ships sail up a long distance. Mont¬ 
real is a pretty city, built on an island in the 
river ; and Quebec is on the top of a huge, rocky 
cliff, that rises like a Avail from the river. 
These are French names, and all through the 
country are farmers, — men and Avomeu Avith 
rather queer dresses, Avho speak a sort of mixed 
French. We should Avonder Iioav this could 
happen in English land, if Ave did not knoAv 
that long ago, before the English gained posses¬ 
sion, French vessels had sailed up the St. La\\'- 
rence, and brought people to settle on its banks. 

After a time, the French and English in Eu¬ 
rope began to fight, and the English colonies in 
America fought the French colonies ; and, after 
a deal of trouble on both sides, the French colo¬ 
nies Avere given up to England, and still belong 
to her. 

THE ESQUIMAUX. 

That great north-eastern point of land, called 
Greenland, does not belong to the English. It 
is one of the coldest countries in the Avorld, and 
the most of it is ahvays covered Avith siioav and 
ice. 

Instead of busy merchants Avith trading ves¬ 
sels, only a few ships, with very bold, hardy cap¬ 
tains, pass by, endeavoring to find an open way 
into the 1 acific, or to reach the north pole. 
Some are so frozen in the ice, that they never 
get out; and the men perish with cold and hun¬ 
ger. A feAv come home again, after trying tAvo 

What is said of it? What is said of Canada? What 
cities there ? Why are there many Trench people in 
Canada ? What kind of country is Greenland ? 








































THE ESQUIMAUX. MEXICO. 


97 


or three years to get farther, having been frozen 
in the ice for months at a time. 

This country is so near the pole, that, for near¬ 
ly half the year, the sun is not seen at all. The 
reason of this you cannot understand at present. 
Instead of the pleasant days and nights that we 
have, there is here one long day for many 
months, and then a tiresome, dark night, just 
as long. 

The people who live in this dreary land are 
called Esquimaux ; and they are a stupid, igno¬ 
rant people. They make houses of snow, that 
look like great ovens, with only a little hole for 
a door ; and they think only of getting food and 
clothes. 

They pass the long day, or their summer, in 
hunting bears, gathering the down of eider 
ducks, spearing seals and whales, and some¬ 
times going far over the waters in their little 
canoes to catch fish. On the land they often 
ride on sledges made of bone, and drawn by 
large dogs. Women and men work together, 
trying to get as many skins as they can, beside 
fat meat, and oil for their lamps, which they 
need in the long nights. 

These Esquimaux are a filthy people, and 
dozens of men, women, and children crowd 
together in one of the hovels. The only fire 
they have is a quantity of fish-oil burning in a 
lamp, and by this they cook their food. They 
all dress alike,, in caps, coats, and boots of skins. 

You must not think that these people stay in¬ 
doors all the dark night. Though they cannot 
go far off, hunting, as in their day, they walk 
about in the keen night air, when the stars are 
shining clear and bright. And, beside the 
stars, there are other strange lights, such as 


What people live there ? How do they live 1 What is 
the Northern Light ? What of the south part of Greenland ? [ 
13 


shining balls and crosses, gleaming like silvery 
flames in the dark sky. The most beautiful of 
all is a crown of red light all across the sky, 
called the Northern Light, or Aurora Borealis. 
It makes a beautiful, rosy light, and is a great 
comfort in the long nights. We sometimes see 
a very little of it here. 

I dare say the Esquimaux are glad to see the 
sun come back, and stay a little longer every 
day, until there is one long, bright day again, 
and the sharp points of the huge icebergs glitter 
and sparkle grandly, and the snowy ground is 
dazzling white. 

Toward the south of Greenland the cold is not 
quite so severe, and a few stunted plants grow 
in the short summer. The people build their huts 
of pieces of wood that drift on shore from the 
ocean. There are some large villages, at which 
vessels stop for oil and other things, and where 
missionaries go to teach the people. 


LESSON XXYI. 

MEXICO. 

All the middle part of North America is 
our own; but south of the United States is 
quite a large country, called Mexico. 

Long ago, when the people in the Old World 
first found this great Western Hemisphere, a 
number of Spaniards sailed from the islands 
where they had first landed, through the Gulf of 
Mexico, to the land on the other side of the 
gulf. This was a warm, beautiful country, 
covered with rich forests and bright flowers. 
They troubled themselves very little about the 
people already there, because they believed, that, 
having found this new country, it was theirs 


Lesson XXYI. — What part of North America did 
the Spaniards first find ? 


















MEXICO. 


by right: at any rate, they intended to take it 
for the King of Spain. 

These men landed on the coast, where they 
saw a dark-skinned people, somewhat like the 
islanders, half naked and very ignorant. But, 
as they went on farther into the country, they 
came to villages, where the people were better 
clothed, had houses to live in, and often spoke 
of a great city, and a powerful king for whom 
they seemed to have much fear and respect. 

When the Spaniards learned these things 
from their interpreters, they were in a great 
hurry to reach this wonderful city; and as they 
were bold, hardy men, with a fierce, brave cap¬ 
tain to lead them, they did not mind difficulties. 
They climbed up the mountains, and made long, 
tiresome marches through the woods, forcing 
the natives, who did not like the idea of letting 
strangers into their country, to show them the 
way. 

I cannot tell you all the troubles the Span¬ 
iards had on the way, nor all the cruel things 
they did. At last, they reached the top of a 
high ridge ; and all at once, on the other side of 
the mountains, the most splendid view they had 
ever imagined was spread before them. 

A beautiful, level valley stretched out for 
miles, with a wall of faint blue mountains ris¬ 
ing around it. Sparkling streams wound about 
through groves of palms and fruit-trees ; and far 
below them, in the midst of this plain, was a 
great city, with houses, streets, and large tem¬ 
ples ornamented with gold and silver. 

The Spaniards were filled with wonder. In 
the islands and other known parts of the conti¬ 
nent there were only painted savages, with skins 

What people did they find? What did the Spaniards 
learn as they went farther into the country? What did 
they do ? What did the natives think of them ? What 
did they find at last ? How. did the Mexicans differ from 


for clothes, and huts of bark ; who knew noth¬ 
ing about building, nor weaving, nor books. 
But here, shut in among the mountains, were 
these strange-looking Mexicans, with a king, 
and temples for their gods; and who could 
make cloth, ornaments of gold and silver, and 
vessels of earthenware, and even had a kind of 
picture-writing. 

The white men had expected to find great 
quantities of gold in the new world that had 
been discovered, and now looked eagerly down 
upon the rich city below. Here was treasure 
at last; and they determined to lay hold of what¬ 
ever they could find. 

Long, bloody fights took place. There were 
a great many Mexicans, and only a few white 
men : but the Spaniards had steel swords nnd 
guns, and wore coats of steel, or armor , on their 
bodies ; while the Mexicans knew nothing of 
gunpowder, had only bows and arrows, and 
wore light, cotton clothes ; so that, while they 
fell by hundreds, their arrows could not go 
through the armor of the Spaniards. 

After that time, Spaniards settled in different 
parts of the country, and sometimes mingled 
with the natives ; so that now, though the peo¬ 
ple are called Mexicans, and have nothing to do 
with Spain, they all speak Spanish, instead of 
the language of the old Mexicans. Scattered 
tribes of Indians still wander about in the wild 
places among the ridges of the .Rocky Moun¬ 
tains. 

The Mexicans have never been able to govern 
themselves well. Some have wanted one thin^. 

07 

some another; and, as each new party has 
thought fighting the only way to succeed, few 

the other natives they had seen ? Why did the Spaniards 
succeed in conquering the Mexicans ? What is the lan¬ 
guage of the Mexicans ? Why ? What is said of the 
government of Mexico? 





























MEXICO. 


99 


years have passed without revolutions and wars 
among themselves. Nothing can be worse for 
a country than all this ; for the people learn to 
distrust one another: farmers do not care to 
plant crops for soldiers to destroy, and mer¬ 
chants never know when their business is safe ; 
so that there is not much improvement from 
year to year. 

Not long ago, some of the kings in Europe 
; began to think that it would be a good plan to 
take the affairs of Mexico into their own hands. 
Prince Maximilian was sent over to be emperor, 
with an army to help him. Some of the Mexi¬ 
cans received him willingly, thinking that it 
would be better for them to have any ruler who 
promised to keep peace and order; others had 
no mind to be governed by strangers ; and so 
there seems now to be more trouble and fii-htin" 

D © 

than ever between the Imperial party and the 
| Republicans. 

Mexico is chiefly in the torrid zone, and re¬ 
sembles the Southern States. Oranges, bana¬ 
nas, and cocoanuts grow there, and great quan¬ 
tities of prickly-pear, which is very useful on 
account of a tiny bug that feeds on it. From 
these bugs a beautiful red dye is made, called 
cochineal , which is used for coloring candy and 
many other things. The prickly-pear is planted 
in long rows ; and the bugs increase until the 
leaves are quite covered with them. Then they 
are carefully brushed off, killed by heat, packed, 
and sent to other countries. 

The Mexicans do not care as much for 
schools as we do, and the children know very 
little about other lands ; but they are all very 
fond of singing and dancing. These people like 
fine clothes and jewelry ; and gentlemen have 


What plants in Mexico ? What is cochineal ? What is 
said of the people ? 


their saddles and bridles made very gay with 
gold, silver, and colored fringes. 

Mexico is the largest city, and Vera Cruz is 
the chief seaport. 

That narrow part of North America which 
lies between Mexico and the Isthmus is called 
Central America, and the people are much like 
the Mexicans. Many vessels go there for the 
wood of the mahogany tree, which is so much 
used. 

The Isthmus of Panama is only a few miles 
wide ; but these few miles made a tedious jour¬ 
ney before the railroad was built, because of 
the high mountains, which travellers to and 
from California dreaded crossing on mules. 


LESSON XXVII. 

QUESTIONS ON THE MAP OF NORTH AMERICA. 

What ocean north of North America? What ocean 
east ? What ocean west ? What large gulf south ? 

What bays or gulfs around North America ? 

What mountains along the west coast ? The east 
coast ? What peninsulas do you find ? 

Where is British America? Canada? Greenland? 

Where is Mexico ? Where are the United States ? 

What country in the north-west corner of North Amer¬ 
ica ? What country south-east of Mexico ? 

What is the southern point of Greenland called ? 

What five large lakes between British America and the 
United States ? What river runs from the lakes to the 
Atlantic Ocean ? What island at its mouth ? 

Name the rivers of North America. Where are they ? 

What group of large islands south-east of the United 
States ? In what sea are they ? 

Where is Quebec ? Montreal ? Mexico ? Vera Cruz ? 

Which way is North America from Europe ? From 
Asia ? To what continent is North America joined ? 
How ? 


What is the largest city ? The chief seaport ? What 
is said of Central America ? 















































































































































102 


OUR COUNTRY. 


LESSON XXVIII. 

THE UNITED STATES AND TERRITORIES. 

Our Country. — All the vast middle lands 
of the continent of North America belong to the 
Americans, as the people of the United States 
are called, who have been building towns, roads, 
and boats on the rivers, ever since the continent 
was discovered. 

Many people have come here from old and 
crowded countries, and have moved on farther 
and farther from the coast of the Atlantic, until 
now they are scattered over all the great space 
reaching from ocean to ocean, and from the St. 
Lawrence River to the Gulf of Mexico. Over 
all these thousands of miles are railroads and 
turnpikes, and steamboats on the rivers, so that 
people can travel quickly to far-off places. 

As the Indians were driven back by the white 
men, they moved farther west to find new for¬ 
ests for hunting grounds. They do not like to 
live in towns ; and though a few tribes have 
learned to live like white people, and many have 
died out, there are some tribes left in the forests 
and plains near the Rocky Mountains, where 
the country is still covered with woods and wild 
prairie lands. 

Small settlements are scattered about over that 
wild country, in some places forming villages, or 
neighborhoods ; while in others there are only 
lonely farms, or here and there hunters’ huts, 
many miles apart. Such parts of the country 
as these are not called States, but Territories. 

All the great space between the Territories 
and the Alleghany Mountains is divided into 
States of different sizes ; and on the Atlantic 
coast is the long row of the old States that were 

Lesson XXVIII. — Where are the United States ? 
What of the country around the Rocky Mountains ? 
What has become of the Indians \ What are the thinly 


first settled, and that fought the English on one 
side, and the Indians on the other, when the 
rest of the country was still forest land. There 
I are only two States on the Pacific coast, — 
California and Oregon. 

Nearly a hundred years have now passed 
since the American colonies united, and made 
a nation of themselves. As they had come 
from the same country, and spoke the same 
language, they managed to agree upon a cer¬ 
tain number of laws or rules to govern all 
the States, which were then called the United 
States of America. But, even at first, some per¬ 
sons were not entirely satisfied ; and as years 
went by, and new States farther west and south 
were added to the old ones, and new laws were 
made, it was still harder for all to be pleased 
with the laws that the States agreed to obey. 
Therefore there was much arguing and disput¬ 
ing from time to time, and one or two laws 
especially caused great trouble. Some of the 
States wanted one thing, and some another, and 
gradually gathered into parties, which began to 
dislike and abuse each other all they could. 
For a time, the best and wisest men tried to 
keep them at peace, knowing that, unless all our 
States were united, we should no longer be a 
powerful nation. But at last the Southern or 
Slave s States declared they would leave the 
Union, and make laws for themselves. The 
other States insisted that they had no right to 
do this, and that the nation should not be broken 
up. So we have had a terrible Avar in our 
beautiful country, and all has been difficulty and 
confusion ; but we now have peace again, with 
our States once more united, and Avith no longer 
any slavery in our free land. 

settled parts of the country called ? Where are the oldest 
States \ What States on the Pacific coast ? How long 
since the colonies united 1 Why have we had a war lately ? 























THE ATLANTIC STATES. 


MAP QUESTIONS. 

What country north of ours 7 What river and lakes 7 
What ocean east 7 What ocean -west 7 
What gulf and country south 7 What mountains in the 
west 7 What in the east 7 

What large river flows south through the middle 7 
What large rivers run into the Mississippi from the 
west 7 From the east 1 

What States on the Atlantic 7 What on the Gulf of 
Mexico 7 What on the Pacific 7 What Territory north 
of Oregon 7 

What are the names of the Inland States and Territo¬ 
ries? 

Which is the most northern State 7 Which the most 
southern 7 

What rivers running into the Atlantic can you remem¬ 
ber 7 Where is the Pptomac River 7 
Where is the city of Washington 7 
Where is Virginia, the place of the first settlement? 
Where is Plymouth 7 


LESSON XXIX. 

THE ATLANTIC STATES. 

These States lie in the strip of land, between 
the Alleghanies and the ocean, which slopes 
down from the mountains to the water. The 
parts near the sea are often sandy or marshy. 
On the sand grow pine woods. Toward the 
mountains the soil is richer, and produces fine 
fields of grain in the middle portion, and cotton 
in the southern. 

When the early settlers came over to look for 
homes in the New World, they staid, as was nat¬ 
ural, near the seacoast where they landed; and 
thus it happened that the first part of our coun¬ 
try settled was this long strip of land which lies 
between the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains. 


Lesson XXIX. — Where are the Atlantic States 7 
What part of our country was first settled? Why? 
Where did the Pilgrims land 7 How did they succeed 7 


103 


In those days, men were not used to sailing 
across the ocean, and did not always know just 
where they might land. So the Pilgrims, in¬ 
stead of coming to a warm, pleasant land, such 
as Columbus, or even the Virginia settlers, had 
found, reached a rough, bare coast, all dreary 
with snow and ice and east winds. But they 
were brave, firm-hearted men, who did not come 
pleasure-seeking: so they set about building 
their houses, and struggling with the Indians, 
and with hunger and suffering of all kinds, as 
steadily as if their land had been as pleasant as 
any in the world, and soon came to love it full 
as well. 

More and more settlers came, until all that 
part of the coast is now even more thickly peo¬ 
pled than the southern. 

There is plenty of work for all; for, though 
there are no rich cotton or tobacco lands, there 
are, fortunately, many little streams running 
down the slope from the mountains, which, 
tumbling over rocks in their way, make excel¬ 
lent waterfalls. So all sorts of mills and facto¬ 
ries have been built for sawing planks, weaving 
cloth, making paper, and many other things • 
and these give work for thousands of hands. 

Beside this, there is the great ocean, witli 
little bays, and snug stopping-places for vessels 
loaded with goods from France, England, and 
other countries. Here, then, is more business, 
— buying and selling the sugar, coffee, &c., 
that come in, and loading and unloading the 
ships. 

Then, too, the useful things from abroad 
must be sent to the people living away from the 
sea, and exchanged for their grain and other 


What of that part of the coast now 7 How are the people 
employed 7 What do ships bring to New England 7 
What can they carry from it to other countries 7 


















104 


THE ATLANTIC STATES.' 


products : so here is more business still, and 
railroads are needed in all directions. 

Thus it has happened that this part of the 
country is now all alive with thousands of busy, 
bustling people, and covered with great cities, 
charming villages, and pretty cottages, dotted 
down wherever there is an acre of ground on 
hillside or valley. 

There are six States here, which together are 
called New England. 

The most northern of these States is Maine, 
and it is also the largest and least settled. 
Most of the towns are in the southern part, 
where there is a long seacoast, with excellent 
harbors, and large rivers running into them. 
Toward the north, almost all the land is still 
covered with great forests : but every year the 
woodmen’s axes ring deeper into these woods, 
where trees have never been cut before ; for the 
Maine people think, as they have a long sea- 
coast and good harbors, they cannot do better 
than use their great forests for ship timber and 
lumber. So parties of woodmen go up the 
streams, and live in tents or huts by their 
banks while they are getting the logs ready to 
float down, very much as they do in the old 
country. 

Then there is other work for the streams to 
do ; for their waters turn the wheels of many a 
mill, cutting the big logs into boards and 
planks. Much of the lumber is sent off to other 
places, where there are no forests ; and the rest is 
used in the seaports, where ships are constantly 
built, and launched upon the ocean. 

Augusta is the capital of the State. Bangor 

Why are railroads needed ? Which State is the most 
northern of the New-England States ? What is said of 
it ? What work do the people find to do ? What cities 
in Maine? What States next to Maine? What is said 
of New Hampshire and Vermont ? What amusements 


is quite a large city, noted for its lumber trade : 
but Portland is the great seaport, and has a 
busy trade ; for the people find their long coast 
convenient for fishing as well as ship-building. 

Next to Maine are New Hampshire and 
Vermont, one with very little seacoast, and the 
other with none. But there are great forests ; 
and these, with high mountains, lakes, and little 
streams leaping in waterfalls down the hillsides, 
make a country so beautiful, that it is common, 
in summer, for people from the large cities, 
miles away, to journey in pleasure-parties to the 
White Mountains in New Hampshire, or to 
Vermont, where the hills are so covered with 
woods to their very tops, that they are called 
the Green Mountains. After the short sum¬ 
mer, the streams are frozen, the hillsides cov¬ 
ered with deep snows, and the winters called 
long and hard; but I have heard little folks 
say, that, for skating and sliding and coasting, 
there is nothing finer in all the world. 

Beside the mountains and forests, there is 
plenty of farming laud, and the farmers are 
famous for their fine sheep and cows. 

Montpelier is the capital of Vermont; but 
there are no very large cities. Burlington is 
prettily situated on Lake Champlain. 

Concord is the capital of New Hampshire, 
and Portsmouth is its seaport; but the largest 
city is Manchester, with its long rows of factories. 
You may have heard of Manchester prints. 

The other three New-England States are 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut; 
all a good deal alike in many things. They are 
small States, Rhode Island is the smallest in 
the Union, and are so thickly settled, that 

for children in the long winters ? For what are the farmers 
famous ? What is said of the cities ? What are the other 
New-England States ? Give the names of all the New- 
England States. Which is the smallest? 




























THE ATLANTIC STATES. 


105 


often the pretty, neat-looking villages are not 
more than a mile or two apart; and the coun¬ 
try houses are so near together, that there is 
only room for small farms. Since there is so 
little land, and that not very rich, we see at once 
that the thousands of busy people who crowd 
: the large cities, or have homes in the thriving 
villages, or build the country houses, cannot live 
I by farming. There are many more people in 
: these little States than in some which are much 
larger ; and all these hands and heads must find 
work in factories, in trading, in ship sailing, in 
fisheries, and such ways. 

In most of these towns, there are little 
streams of water, near which we are sure to see , 
tall chimneys, and hear the puffing noise of 
steam mills and the whirling of machinery. In J 
| the great brick factories, thousands of men, wo¬ 
men, and children are busy every day, making 
cotton and woollen cloths, glass, nails, screws, | 
and many other useful things ; and all this is 
, done so wonderfully fast, that it is almost like 
i fairy work, and beautiful to see. Most of these 
j things are sent from the towns where they are 
made to the large cities, where they are sold 
I to merchants from different parts of the coun¬ 
try, or sent off on vessels across the sea. Mil¬ 
lions of pairs of shoes are made every year in 
the towns of Massachusetts to send to all parts 
of the Union. 

It was on the coast of Massachusetts that the 
Pilgrims first landed, and made the little town 
of Plymouth; but, when more settlers came, 
they found a fine harbor farther up the bay, 
and began to build Boston, which is now the 


What is said of these last three ? What do the people 
do in these States ? What becomes of their manufactures ? 
Where did the Pilgrims land ? Where is Boston ? What 
is said of it 1 What other cities of Massachusetts are j 
mentioned ? What cities in Connecticut 1 What is a j 
14 


largest city in New England, with new streets 
and long rows of houses building all the time. 
There are some cities in our country larger and 
busier than Boston, but none with more schools 
and libraries, or better educated people. 

Springfield and Worcester are quite large 
cities in the middle part of the State, and Lowell 
with its busy factories is on the Merrimack. 

Hartford and New Haven are the largest 
cities in Connecticut, and are both capitals. 
The men who make the State laws meet some- 

| 

times in one city, sometimes in the other. Such 
a body of law-makers in any State is called its 
Legislature. 

The little State of Rhode Island has also two 
capitals, — Providence, a thriving city; and 
Newport, a favorite summer resort. 

The largest river in New England is the 
Connecticut, which rises far northward, and 
runs south, separating Vermont and New 
Hampshire, and passing through the middle of 
Massachusetts and Connecticut into Long-Island 
Sound. 

South-west of New England are the Middle 
j States, — New York, New Jersey, Delaware, 

| and Pennsylvania. 

New York is a very large State, and reaches 
so far west, that there is room for great wheat 
fields and pastures. Many barrels of flour and 
quantities of butter and cheese come from the 
farms of New York. This State is just in the 
line of travel from west to east, so that it has 
many railroads and a large canal. Beside 
being open to the Atlantic Ocean, it has a long 
coast on the large lakes Erie and Ontario. 


legislature ? What cities in Rhode Island ? Where is 
the Connecticut River ? What States south-west of New 
England ? What is said of New York ? What lakes 
touch it ? What mountains and river in the eastern 
part 1 






















106 


THE ATLANTIC STATES, 


Some ridges of the Alleghanies rim through 
New York, and the beautiful River Hudson 
flows through the eastern part. 

New-York City, at the mouth of the Hudson, 
is the largest city in America, and the best 
known in other lands. The country all around 
is rich and thickly settled, and there is a good 
harbor for vessels. Thousands of merchants 
from different parts of the inland States go 
twice a year to New York to buy new sup¬ 
plies of goods; and ships from abroad come 
here, where their cargoes can be sold quickly, 
and where they can be loaded with cotton, 
grain, and other American products, to carry 
back to their own countries. There is always 
a forest of masts in the bay; and, every day, 
vessels come from and sail for all parts of the 
world. This is not only the busiest but the 
gayest of our cities, and every kind of amuse¬ 
ment is to be found. 

Albany, the capital of the State, is on the 
Hudson, and at the end of the great Erie Canal, 
which runs through the whole State. By means 
of this canal, which joins Lake Erie with the 
Hudson River, the vast produce of the West 
can be carried by water to the Atlantic Ocean. 

Buffalo is on Lake Erie, and near the cele¬ 
brated Falls of Niagara. 

New Jersey has a long seacoast for its size ; 
but the shore is lined with little islands and 
sand-bars, which prevent vessels from coming 
near: therefore we find no large towns on the 
seacoast. The Jersey people cannot trade 
much over the sea ; but they have some large 
factories, and their land is just suited for fruit. 
From their orchards come every year fine 
apples, delicious peaches, pears, and cherries. 

What is said of New-York City? What is the cap- 
tal of the State ? Where is Buffalo ? What is said of 
New Jersey ? What of Delaware? Of Pennsylvania? 


Trenton, the capital, is on the Delaware 
River. 

Delaware, the smallest State except Rhode 
Island, has no seaport; but it has a great many 
flour mills, and much fine wheat. Dover is the 
capital, but is not so large a city as Wilming¬ 
ton. 

Pennsylvania has no seacoast; but Delaware 
Bay runs up from the ocean, and receives the 
water of a large river of the same name. Phil¬ 
adelphia is a handsome city on this river. 

The Alleghany Mountains run through this 
State, and are full of iron and coal. In the 
midst of the coal country is the city of Pitts¬ 
burg, where tall factory chimneys are smoking, 
big fires glowing, and soot flying, day and night. 
You all know how useful coal is ; for, to say 
nothing of our grates and stoves, the huge fac¬ 
tory fires would long ago have burned up all the 
wood that could be easily got. And then our 
burning gas is made from coal, as well as a 
great deal of very nice oil for lamps ; and, beside 
all this, from the black, smutty coal, people now 
make beautiful dyes for silk and woollen, such 
as we often see in our ribbons. 

Not very long ago, it was found out that by 
boring deep down into the earth and rock, at cer¬ 
tain jdaces in Pennsylvania, streams of oil would 
burst out. A great many people soon rushed 
to look for this wonderful oil; and now there 
are many oil wells, not only in that State, but 
also in Ohio and Kentucky. Thousands of bar¬ 
rels are brought away, and sold for a good 
price. I dare say the very youngest one among 
you has heard of petroleum. 

The southern half of this Atlantic slope 
reaches down into a warm climate ; and, as the 

Where is Philadelphia? Where is Pittsburg? For 
what is coal used ? What is petroleum ? What is the 
climate of the Southern Atlantic States? 























THE ATLANTIC STATES. 


107 


rich land had never been cleared when the first 
settlers came, they had good reason to be 
charmed with this wonderful, new country. 
Thick forests spread over it for miles and miles, 
and among the tall trees all manner of shrubs 
and plants sprouted up rankly from the rich 
soil. Often whole thickets were bound and 
woven in with heavy coils of grape vine ; and the 
wild jessamine hung in long festoons from tree 
to tree, and trailed from the high branches, 
making the air sweet with the rich odor of its 
yellow blossoms. In the sandy flats were great 
forests of pines, and under the dark green trees 
thousands of gay-colored flowers. Even now, 
the Carolina children know where to look for 
treasures in the “ pine barrens.” 

Pleasant as this was, the settlers had troubles 
enough at first; for they had no houses, no 
food, and many quarrels with the Indians : 
but they soon found maize, or corn, growing 
finely, which gave them plenty to eat, with but 
little work. They learned the use of tobacco 
from the Indians, and after a time raised great 
quantities of it, which they sent to Europe, and 
sold for good prices. By and by, they found 
that the soil and climate were just suited for cot¬ 
ton, so that there was work enough for all who 
could come ; and in time the country around 
was pretty well covered with tobacco-fields, 
corn-fields, and cotton-fields, and divided into 
the States of Maryland, Virginia, Carolina, 
Georgia, and Florida. 

Now these States have large cities, and send 
out vessels to all parts of the world; for, be¬ 
side the cotton and tobacco, rice comes from 
South Carolina; and the pine woods of North 

What did the first settlers find there ? What troubles 
had they ? What did they raise ? What States in this 
part of the country 1 What comes from South Carolina ? 
What from the pine barrens 1 What bay in Maryland 1 



Rice Plant. 


Carolina furnish tar and tur¬ 
pentine, and staves for hogs¬ 
heads and barrels, all very 
useful articles. 

Maryland is almost di¬ 
vided by Chesapeake Bay; 
and near the head of the 
bay is Baltimore, one of 
our large cities. Annapo¬ 
lis, the capital, is also on 
the bay, and has a naval 
school, where boys are fit¬ 
ted for the United-States 
navy. 

The old State of Virginia has been recently 
divided into two States, called Virginia and 
West Virginia. Richmond, of which you have 
all heard so much lately, is in Virginia, on the 
James River. 

Maryland and Virginia 
are especially the tobacco 
States. They are sep¬ 
arated by the Potomac ; 
and just between them, 
lying on both sides of the 
river, is a small piece of 
land called the District 
of Columbia. This be¬ 
longs to the whole coun¬ 
ty ; and here is Wash¬ 
ington, our national cap¬ 
ital, where the President 
lives, and where there is a large, fine building 
called the Capitol, in which the Congress of the 
United States meets to make laws for the whole 
country. The members of Congress are chosen 
by the different States for this purpose. 





Tobacco Plant. 


Where is Baltimore ? Annapolis % Where is Richmond ? 
How has Virginia been divided \ What is the District of 
Columbia ? What city there ? What is said of it ? 






















; 108 


MAP QUESTIONS. 


THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 


Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina. 
There are no good harbors in this State, be¬ 
cause of the little islands and sand-bars alono- 

© 

the coast. Wilmington is almost the only sea¬ 
port. 

Tardier south, in South Carolina, is Charles¬ 
ton, one of the largest Southern cities. Large 
steamers run constantly between Charleston and 
New York, and vessels sail from there to other 
parts of the world. Savannah in Oeorgia, on 
the Savannah River, is another quite important 
seaport. 

Florida, as you see on the map, is a long, 
narrow peninsula. We owe almost the whole 
of it to the industrious little coral animals ; and 
they are still busy, day and night, at their slow 
but sure work, building up new reefs and islands 
along the coast. All the southern part is very 
flat, so flat and low, that there are great 
marshes called everglades, where, since it is 
very warm, as well as moist, there is a thick 
growth of trees and plants that belong in trop¬ 
ical countries. 

The first settlement on the continent of 
America was made at St. Augustine by the 
Spaniards. They were so delighted with the 
rich, bright plants everywhere, that they called 
the country Florida , or flowery. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

Name the Atlantic States in order, beginning with the 
most northern. 

Which arc called New England ? 

Which are the Middle States ? 

Where is Cape Cod ? 

Where is Cape Sable ? 


What is said of North Carolina ? Where is Charleston ? 
Savannah ? What is said of Florida ? Why was it 
called Florida'? What town did the Spaniards first 
build ? 


Where is Delaware Bay ? 

Where is Chesapeake Bay ? 

Where is Albemarle Sound ? 

Where is Connecticut River ? 

Where is Hudson River ? 

What river between Pennsylvania and New Jersey ? 
Between Maryland and Virginia ? Between Georgia and 
South Carolina? 

Where is James River ? 

What lake east of New York? What ones north¬ 
west ? 

Mention the capitals of the New-England States. 
Mention the capitals of the Middle States. 

Where is New-York City ? 

What large city in the south-east of Pennsylvania ? 

On what river is the city of Washington ? 

What large city in Maryland ? 

Where is Richmond ? 

What large city in South Carolina ? 

Where is Savannah ? St. Augustine ? 


LESSON XXX. 

THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 

As the Atlantic States became thickly settled, 
and people still came from the Old World, some 
of them began to make their way over the 
Alleghany Mountains to the country beyond. 
Some went because they liked the wild, lonely, 
hunter’s life in the forests ; others because they 
were eager for new adventures ; and still more 
because they could get plenty of land for little 
or nothing. Often whole families, who did 
not mind a hard, rough life, would pack up 
all they had in one or two wagons, and set 
out for a long journey through pathless woods, 
— the men on horseback, the women and chil¬ 
dren in the wagons ; camping out at night, cook- 


Lesson XXX. —Why were the States beyond the 
Alleghanies settled? How did the first settlers trav¬ 
el ? 











































I 




109 


ing and eating by a fire 
of logs and dry branches, 
until at last they chose a 
place for a home. As 
they generally chose a 
spot where the laud was 
good and water plenty, 
other families soon set¬ 
tled near them; livin 0 " 
at first in log-huts, clear¬ 
ing the land for corn¬ 
fields, and fighting more 
or less Avitli the Indians. 
In this way, town after 
town grew up, roads were 
made, forests cut down, 
and States divided ofif 
throughout the great cen¬ 
tral valley, from the Al- 
leghauies to beyond the 
Mississippi River. 


THE GULF STATES. 

The most southern States border on the Gulf 
of Mexico, which is as good as a seacoast. 
Beside Florida, which also borders on the At¬ 
lantic, there are Alabama, Mississippi, Louisi¬ 
ana, and Texas. All these, together with Arkan¬ 
sas, just north of Louisiana, are cotton States. 
You can remember also that some of the finest 
cotton in the world is raised on the islands along 
the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, and 
is called Sea-Island cotton. 

The cotton plants grow very large in the hot 
sun ; and in the fall, when the brown burs burst 
open, the fields are white with the cotton, that 

How did towns grow up ? Which arc the Gulf 
States 7 What grows there 7 What is said of the cot¬ 
ton plants 7 J 


pops out in balls as big as one’s fist. It is then 
picked, cleaned of its seeds, and packed hard in 
great bales. Many thou¬ 
sands of these bales are 
sent to England to be 
woven into cloth, beside 
what is woven here at 
home in the Northern 
States. In the South, the 
people are busy planting, 
and have few factories. 

Alabama raises more cot¬ 
ton than any other State. 

It is shipped from Mobile, 
a large city, on a bay of the 
same name, near the Gulf. 


Where is the cotton sent 7 What is said of Alabama 7 
Where is Mobile 7 











































110 


MAP QUESTIONS. 


THE INLAND STATES. 


There are also large cotton plantations in 
Mississippi, but no very large towns ; for in 
those States the climate is not very healthful, 
and many people do not care to live there. 

In Louisiana there are large plantations, 
where thousands of hogsheads of sugar and mo¬ 
lasses are made every season. Some of these are 
carried up the Mississippi and its branches, on 
steamboats, to the towns on the banks. The 
greater part, however, is sent to New Orleans, 
the largest city in the South. It is not far from 
the mouth of the Mississippi; and not only 
steamboats from the river, but ships from all 
parts of the world, go there. There are people 
enough to make a large city, in spite of the cli¬ 
mate ; but all, who can, go away for the sum¬ 
mer months, on account of a terrible disease, 
called the yellow-fever. 

There are many swamps and lakes in Lou¬ 
isiana, and the earth is thrown up in banks 
to keep off the water of the river. When 
one of these levees , as they are called, happens 
to be broken through, the water rushes in 
violently, and washes away every thing in its 
path. 

This State once belonged to the French, who 
settled there in old times ; and, though it is now 
one of the American States, there are many 
French families in New Orleans, — some¬ 
times whole neighborhood^ of them together; 
and this makes it a little different from our 
other cities. 

Texas is a very large State. There are great 
numbers of cattle and wild horses on the prai¬ 
ries. Many farmers and cotton planters have 
settled in the State ; but summer droughts are 

What is said of Mississippi ? What plantations in 
Louisiana ? What becomes of the sugar ? What is said 
of New Orleans ? What are levees ? What nation once 
owned Louisiana ? What is said of Texas ? 


frequent and severe, so that both men and cattle 
often suffer. 

(jlalveston is the largest city. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

What States border on the Gulf of Mexico ? Which is 
farthest south-west ? Where is Arkansas ? What river 
runs through it ? What State east of Alabama ? West ? 
In what State is the mouth of the Mississippi ? Into 
what water does it flow ? What large city near its mouth ? 
Where is Mobile ? Galveston ? What group of large 
islands south-east of Florida ? What small islands north 
of the West Indies ? What river in the north of Ala¬ 
bama? What large river south-west of Texas? Name 
the capitals of the Gulf States. 


LESSON XXXI. 

THE INLAND STATES. 

WL now have left, in the middle of the conti¬ 
nent, the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minne¬ 
sota, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas. These 
States are in one of the most beautiful countries 
in the world : some parts are hilly, and covered 
with noble forests ; others level, with waving 
corn and clover fields. The eastern valleys are 
shut in by mountains, rising in the distance, 
dim and blue ; and toward the western prairies 
the land spreads out smooth and wide. Every¬ 
where large rivers and hundreds of little 
streams water the land. Large cities are rapid¬ 
ly growing up- and all over the tract, where, not 
many years ago, the wild Indian roamed, are 
scattered towns and villages ; while fields of grain, 
large pastures, and orchards, cover their hunting 
grounds. This region is only partly cultivated, 

Lesson XXXI. — Give the names of the Inland States, 
and tell what is said of the country. What do other 
countries get from this region ? 










































THE INLAND STATES. 


Ill 


but already sends supplies of food all over the 
land, and to the crowded countries of the Old 
World. Beside the vast quantities of grain, 
a great many mules, horses, cows, sheep, and 
hogs are raised. 

Tennessee and Kentucky, on the east side of 
the Mississippi, are much alike. They have no 
seacoast, no fishing, no vessels, except the 
steamboats on the rivers, and no factories; 
but they have very fine, rich farm land, beside 
plenty of coal and iron in the eastern part, 
where the mountains are. The. people plant 
corn, wheat, tobacco, and some cotton, and have 
fine mules and horses. 

Nashville, on the Cumberland River, is the 
capital of Tennessee, and Memphis is quite a 
large city on the Mississippi. Frankfort is the 
capital of Kentucky : but Louisville, on the Ohio 
River, is the largest city, and has much trade ; 
for the railroad from the east to Nashville and 
Memphis passes through it, making a great deal 
of travel; and steamboats bring sugar, molas¬ 
ses, cotton, &c., from the Southern States up the 
Ohio, and exchange them for dry-goods from 
the north. 

There are many caves in the soft limestone of 
this part of the country ; and in Kentucky there 
is one so large, that it is called the Mammoth 
Cave. Many persons visit it, and go in several 
miles under the ground, being sometimes obliged 
to cross little streams in the cave. Torches are 
carried to give light, and the sparkling rocks 
which hang overhead glitter like icicles in the 
torchlight. 

Ohio is one of the pleasantest and most 


Where are Tennessee and Kentucky? What do the 
people do in those States? What cities in Tennessee? 
What in Kentucky? What is said of caves? What is 
said of Ohio ? What is said of Cincinnati ? What other 


thickly peopled of the inland States. There are 
a great many hogs, horses, and sheep ; and this 
is the great State for pork. Hundreds of thou¬ 
sands of hogs are killed at Cincinnati, and the 
meat packed in barrels and boxes to send to 
different places. Candles and lard are also 
made : even the hair of the hogs is put to use, 
and of their bristles all sorts of brushes are 
made. 

Cincinnati is the largest city. It was for a 
long time the largest and most beautiful city of 
the Western States, and was called the “ Queen 
of the West.” It is on the Ohio River, just in 
the line of travel from the South to the North 
and East, and has a large trade. 

Columbus is the capital; and Cleveland is a 
large city on Lake Erie, from which steamers 
start for Buffalo in New York. 

Michigan lies right in among the great, beau¬ 
tiful, blue lakes. It reaches quite far north, 
where it is too cold for good farming land ; but 
among the bare-looking rocks around Lake Su¬ 
perior are quantities of copper, which is very 
useful, and here are the richest copper mines 
in the world. 

Detroit is the city through which trade with 
these copper lands is carried on. 

Other inland States are Indiana, Illinois, and 
Wisconsin, east of the Mississippi; and, on 
the other side, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and 
Kansas. These all have a great deal of beauti¬ 
ful prairie land, and raise quantities of grain. 
In several of them are large lead mines, beside 
coal and iron. There is a strange mountain in 
Missouri, of nearly pure iron. 


cities are mentioned ? Where is Michigan ? What is 
found on the shores of Lake Superior ? What is the chief 
city? What other States cast of the Mississippi River? 
What States west ? What of these States ? 


















112 


BEYOND THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 


St. Louis on the Mississippi, and Chicago in 
Illinois, have grown very rapidly, and have be¬ 
come, of late, large, wealthy cities. 

Minnesota and Kansas are new States, anc 
are yet very thinly settled : but in a few years 
ive shall learn of busy cities there also ; for 
people are constantly leaving the crowded East¬ 
ern States to go west, where land is plenty and 
cheap. Nevada, just cast of California, and, 
like it, rich in mines, has very lately become 
a State. 

1 ou can find the capitals of all these States 
on your map, and must remember that the capi¬ 
tal of a State is not always its chief city, but is 
often selected because it can be easily reached 
from all parts of the State, though it may not 
have advantages for trade or manufactures. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

What States touch the Mississippi ? Which ones touch 
the Great Lakes ? Which is the most northern State ? 
Which States aic north of the Olno River? Which ones 
south ? Of what river is the Ohio a branch ? The Ten¬ 
nessee? The Cumberland ? Where is Cincinnati ? Lou¬ 
isville? Nashville? Memphis? St. Louis? Chicago? 
Detroit? Name the capitals of all the Inland States. 


LESSON XXXII. 

BEYOND THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 

b or a long time, the wild country toward 
these mountains was left to the Indians, and a 
few hardy hunters who followed deer and buffa¬ 
loes ; for it was rather dreary and unpromising. 
But by and by some of the hunters and strag¬ 
gling adventurers began to cross the Rocky 

Where are St. Louis and Chicago ? What is said of 
Minnesota and Kansas ? What of Nevada ? Where is 
the capital of a State usually found ? 

Lesson XXXI I. — W hat of the country near the Rocky 


Mountains, and travel over the broad country 
which lay beyond; for these mountains are 
quite a distance from the Pacific. These men 
brought back tales, from time to time, of the 
wide valleys and table lands, the ridges of 
mountains, deep ravines, large rivers, and pleas¬ 
ant climate, on the other side of the mountains. 

Occasionally some persons went to California 
or Oregon ; but all at once it was found out that 
there was a great deal of gold in the Sierra 
Nevada Mountains, and then there was a great 
rush to California. Men went from all parts 
of the world, making the long voyage round 
Cape Horn before there was a route across the 
Isthmus of Panama. Soon women and chil¬ 
dren followed, and nothing was heard of but 
gold and California. The city of San Fran¬ 
cisco, on the Pacific coast, was built up in 
such wonderful haste, that it almost seems to 
h&\ e come to us as palaces come in fairy 
tales. Men hurried there from all the States ; 
and, beside our own people, English, French, 
G-ermans, and even Chinese, went in crowds. 
Houses were built, streets laid out; and, before 
one could believe it possible, a large city stood 
all alone on the western coast, and steamships 
were sailing regularly over the Pacific Ocean. 
Beside the gold, people found a very beauti- 
1 country, with lovely valleys, wild mountain 
ridges, and rivers large and small, rushing 
through ravines and over the rocks in water- 
alls. Then, too, here are huge trees, and 
many kinds of plants growing much larger than 
ours do, and looking almost tropical; for the 
mild winds blowing over the Pacific make this 
region a great deal warmer than it is on the At- 
antic coast the same distance north. 

Mountains ? What lies beyond ? Where was gold found ? 
What happened then ? What city was built ? What is 
said of it? What kind of country is California? 































BEYOND THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 


113 


I hough some persons came back from the 
gold diggings disappointed, others staid, and 
more went, and are still going; so that 
many towns have been built, and California and 
Oregon made into States. Steamers now sail 
regularly between New York and Aspinwall, 
connecting, by a railroad across the Isthmus 
of Panama, with steamers to San Francisco. 
These steamers carry out dry goods, groceries, 
and such things as are needed in California, 
and bring back gold. There is also an overland 
route by which people go sometimes ; but it is 
rather dangerous, because of the Indians, and so 
they travel in large companies, somewhat in 
the manner of caravans. Doubtless, before 
many years, a railroad will be built across the 
country, making it easy to get from California 
to the States Avest of the Mississippi. Already, 
by the neAV telegraph, the daily news of San 
Francisco can be known throughout the Eastern 
cities. 

W est of the Sierra Nevada, in California, is 

How do people get to California 7 IIow can we hear 
quickly from San Francisco 7 Where is the Coast Range 
of mountains 7 What is said of the country between the 

15 


another range of mountains, called the Coast 
Range. 

Between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra 
Nevada there is a great highland valley or table 
land, containing a lake, called the Great Salt 
Lake, on the borders of which the Mormons 
live, of whom you may have heard. They 
have a religion and customs of their own, very 
different from those of other parts of our Union ; 
and some people do not like to have this great 
Mormon settlement in the Territory of Utah. 

The centre of the gold region of the Rocky j 
Mountains is in Colorado, and you often hear 
noAV of Pike’s Peak and Denver City. 

MAP QUESTIONS. 

What States west of the Mississippi 7 What Territories 7 
How do the Rocky Mountains run 7 Where is the Sierra I 
Nevada 7 The Coast Range ? What States on the Pa¬ 
cific coast ? What Territory north of Oregon 7 What 
large river flows west into the Pacific? Where is the 
Missouri River? Arkansas River7 Where is San Fran¬ 
cisco 7 What lies south of this part of our country 7 
Where is Aspinwall 7 Panama 7 

Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada 7 Where is 
the gold region of the Rocky Mountains 7 
























114 


GENE UAL MAP QUESTIONS 


FOR REVIEW. 


GENERAL MAP QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 


LESSON I. 

What arc the names of the continents ? 

What are the names of the oceans ? 

Which is the largest continent ? The smallest ? 

Which is the largest ocean ? Between what lands is it ? 
What oceans around the poles ? 

What large gulfs and bays are made by the Pacific I 
What ones by the Atlantic ? The Indian * 

What are the largest lakes in the world ? Where ? 
What large rivers in North America'? 

What large rivers in South America ? 

What are the chief rivers of Asia ? Of Europe ? 
Where is the Nile ? The Niger ? 

Where is the Thames ? The Rhine ? 

Into what sea docs the Volga flow ? 

What great mountain chains in each continent ? 

What group of large islands belongs to Europe ? 

What group south-east of Asia ? South-east of North 
America ? 

Where are the Sandwich Islands ? 

Where is Greenland? Newfoundland'? Australia'? 
What large gulf south of the United States ? 

What are the principal countries of Asia ? Of Europe ? 
What are the largest cities in North America ? 

Mention some cities in Europe. In Asia. 

Which are the three northern continents ? 

What part of North America is hottest? 

What part of South America is hottest ? 

What part of Africa ? 

What part of Europe is coldest ? 

Which continents are partly in the torrid zone ? 

What continent east from North America? Which 
one west from Africa ? South from Europe ? East from 
Asia? 

What ocean must be crossed to get from the United 
States to England ? From Africa to Australia ? 

From Spain to Cuba? From France to New York ? 
What oceans must be crossed in sailing from New 
York to the East Indies? 


LESSON II. 

NORTH AMERICA. 

What waters border upon, or bound, North America? 
What is the shape of this continent ? 

What gulfs and bays touching North America are made 
by the Atlantic Ocean ? By the Pacific Ocean ? 

Name the islands near North America. 

Name its mountain chains. 

What peninsula extends south-west from Russian 
America ? 

Where is Labrador ? Where is Nova Scotia ? 

Where is the Peninsula of Yucatan ? Of California ? 
Where is Cape Farewell ? Cape Sable ? Cape Cod ? 
In what different zones does North America lie ? 

What six different countries in North America ? 

Where is British America ? Greenland ? Mexico ? 
Where are the United States ? 

What country north of the United States ? South ? 
What country south-east of Mexico ? 

Of what water is Hudson’s Bay a part ? 

Where is Baffin’s Bay? Where is Behring’s Strait 7 
Where is the Isthmus of Panama ? 

What large river flows north into the Arctic Ocean ? 
What one east from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic ? 
What rivers along the Atlantic slope of the Allcgha- 
nies ? 

What great river flows south into the Gulf of Mexico ? 
What large branch of the Mississippi from the east ? 
What three large branches from the west ? 

Where is the Rio Grande ? The Columbia ? 


LESSON III. 

THE UNITED STATES. 

What five great lakes north of the United States? 
What gulf south ? 

IIow are the Great Lakes connected with the ocean ? 





























GENERAL MAP QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 


115 


Which is the most northern of the States ? 

Name the New-England States. 

Name all the Atlantic States. 

Name all the Inland States. 

What States on the Pacific ? 

What States on the Gulf of Mexico? 

W hat rivers in the Atlantic States ? 

What States does the Mississippi touch ? 

What States do the branches of the Mississippi pass 
through ? 

Where is the city of Boston? New York? Philadel¬ 
phia? Washington? Baltimore? Charleston? Mo¬ 
bile ? New Orleans ? Louisville ? Cincinnati ? De¬ 
troit? Buffalo ? San Francisco? St. Louis? Chicago? 
Savannah ? Memphis ? 

Name the capitals of the Atlantic States ? Of the Pa¬ 
cific States ? Of the Gulf States ? Of the Inland States ? 

Name the Territories of the United States. 

How would a vessel go from New Orleans to Liver¬ 
pool 1 What would it carry ? 

How would a vessel go from New York to Valparaiso? 
From Boston to Canton ? 


LESSON IV. 

SOUTH AMERICA. 

How is South America bounded ? 

What islands on the north ? What one south ? 

What cape at the east point ? What one at the south ? 
What part of South America is hottest ? 

Where is the Strait of Magellan ? 

What three large rivers in South America ? 

Where is the Orinoco ? and how does it run ? 

Where is the Amazon ? and how does it run ? 

Where is the La Plata ? and how does it run ? 

What mountains on the western coast? On the 
eastern ? Which pass through the whole continent ? 
Where are the selvas ? The pampas ? The llanos ? 
Through what part does the equator pass ? 

What States can you remember ? 

What large country in the eastern part ? 

Where is the city of Quito ? Of Caraccas ? Lima ? 
Rio Janeiro ? Buenos Ayres ? Valparaiso ? 

How would a ship go from Rio Janeiro to Boston? 
With what would it be loaded ? 

In what direction is Australia from South America? 
Africa from South America? 


LESSON V. 

AFRICA. 

How is Africa bounded ? 

What gulf on the west ? Where is the Strait of Babel- 
mandeb ? 

What large island east ? 

How is Africa joined with Asia ? 

What large river in the north-cast? Into what sea does 
it flow ? Where is the River Niger ? 

What mountains in Africa ? 

What well-known cape at the southern point ? 

What groups of islands on the north-west ? 

Is Africa mostly hot, or cold ? Why ? 

What countries border on the Mediterranean Sea ? 
What other sea touches Egypt ? 

What great desert in Africa ? Where is it ? 

Where is Liberia ? 

What continent north of Africa ? 


LESSON VI. 

EUROPE. 

What ocean north of Europe ? What one west ? 
What water south ? What land cast ? 

What gulfs and bays around the coast ? 

What are some of the principal rivers ? 

Where is the Seine ? The Rhine ? The Danube ? 
The Volga ? The Elbe? The Rhone? 

What islands in the Mediterranean Sea ? 

What mountains in Europe ? Where are the Alps ? 
Where are the Ural Mountains ? The Pyrenees ? 
Where are England, Scotland, and Ireland ? 

What is the largest country in Europe ? 

Where is Italy? France? Spain? Greece? Tim- 
key? Russia? Germany? Holland? Denmark? 
What water between France and England ? 

What strait south of Spain ? 

Which way is Italy from England ? From Spain ? 
What countries border on the Mediterranean Sea ? 
What island south of Italy? What mountains in 
Italy ? 

Where is the River Thames ? The Shannon ? 

Where is London ? Edinburgh ? Dublin ? 

Where is Liverpool ? Manchester ? 
























On what river is it? Where is Marseilles? Bor¬ 
deaux ? 

Where is Rome ? Naples ? Venice ? 

What is the capital of Spain ? Of Portugal ? 

What rivers in Spain ? 

Where is Brussels ? Berlin ? Amsterdam ? Stock¬ 
holm ? Copenhagen ? 

Where is St. Petersburg ? Where is Moscow ? 

Where is Constantinople ? Athens ? 

What mountains between Norway and Sweden ? 

Where is the Baltic Sea ? The North Sea ? 

How would a ship go from Liverpool to Calcutta ? 
What would it carry ? What would it bring back ? 


LESSON VII. 

ASIA. 

What ocean north of Asia ? What one east? 

What ocean south ? What continent west ? 

What gulfs and bays around the coast ? 

What three rivers flow north into the Arctic Ocean ? 
What three flow east into the Pacific ? 

Where is the Ganges ? Where are the Tigris and Eu¬ 
phrates ? 

What mountains in the southern part of Asia? 

Where are the Altai Mountains ? The Ural Moun¬ 
tains ? Name the other mountain chains. 


What country in the north of Asia? Where is 
China ? 

Where is India ? Where is Arabia ? Persia ? 

Where is Palestine ? 

What sea west of Arabia ? 

With what country in Africa does Arabia join 
What group of large islands east of Asia ? 

What large group south-east ? What island south of 
India ? 

Where is Siberia ? What country in Europe does it 
join ? 

What parts of Asia are desert ? 

Where is Tartary ? 

Where are the cities of Pekin, Canton, and Nankin ? 
What is the largest city in India ? 

Where are the diamond mines of Golconda ? 

Where is Jerusalem ? Damascus ? Bagdad ? 

Where is the Dead Sea ? The Black Sea ? The Cas¬ 
pian ? 

Which way is Jerusalem from England ? 

What island-continent south-east of Asia ? 

What ocean west of Australia? What one east? 

What ocean south of Australia ? 

Are there many bays and gulfs around the coast ? 

What groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean ? 

Through what oceans must one sail to go from Eng¬ 
land to Australia ? 

How would a ship go from New York to Canton ? 
What would it carry, and bring back ? 


/ 


116 


G E N E R A L M A P QUESTION S E O R R E VIE W. 


— 




ri'j/S 9 


What is the capital and largest city in France ? 


In what direction do the long chains run ? 



































nip: • ■ 1 



























































































































































































































































■ 














































































